On 18 September 2021, four astronaut tourists landed after three days orbiting Earth. It was the first time a crew who are not specialist astronauts had orbited Earth. This resources pack includes an article from The Week Junior magazine, along with a sheet of activities designed to get children thinking, talking and writing about what the story means to them.
Debate
Going into space looks like a great adventure but should private, non-governmental organisations even be allowed to do it? If they want to help medical science, for example, why don’t they just give the money straight to the hospital instead of pumping pollutants into the atmosphere for a short joy-ride around the planet? Or is it great that inspirational people can do this sort of thing without taking cash from tax payers? If they’ve earned their money honestly, surely they should be free to do whatever they like with it? What do you think?
Writing challenges
Design a poster or write a radio advertisement for a form of space holiday, whether it’s a long weekend in orbit or a holiday on the Moon or even another planet
Or
Whenever you fly on normal passenger planes, the flight attendants give a brief speech and demonstration of the safety procedures such as inflating a life jacket. Write a similar announcement for a private journey into space, using your imagination to think of likely safety precautions
Investigate
What are the main layers of the Earth’s atmosphere? Describe each, explaining how high above ground level each one goes and what happens (man-made and natural) in each one. Include a labelled diagram if possible.
Find the entire series of Topical Tuesday resources to download here.
What is The Week Junior?
The Week Junior magazine looks at current affairs and helps children make sense of the world, provides context and clarity to complex issues, improves general knowledge and encourages discussion and debate.
To find out more about The Week Junior and to download its free resources, please go to schools.theweekjunior.co.uk.