Afterschool Astronauts

A flexible afterschool program based around the video game Kerbal Space Program. Using the history of American spaceflight, students will learn to fly spacecraft in an accurate physics simulation of the solar system.

Science

Starting with basic scientific principles, experimentation, and hypothesizing, KSP EDU brings scientific ideas into a new light, where larger than life explosions are safer than ever.

Math

Following the science, patterns emerge. Patterns that can be understood using the universal language of math. Connecting the dots of real life problems to the algebra.

Engineering

Interpreting complex requirements and physical limitations, then building a unique solution, the opportunity to "try, try again" is at the heart of every part of KSP EDU.

What Does Afterschool Astronauts Teach

This program covers a broad range of ideas, and the following are the topics covered as described by the Common Core Mathmatices and Next Generation Science Standards.

Science (Source)

HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship

among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.

HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is

conserved when there is no net force on the system.

HS-PS2-3. Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a

macroscopic object during a collision.

HS-PS3-2. Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a

combination of energy associated with the motion of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative

position of particles (objects).

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Math (Source)

A-CED 1-4. Create equations that describe numbers or relationships

F-IF 1-3. Understand the concept of a function and use function notation

F-IF 4-6. Interpret functions that arise in applications in terms of the context

F-IF 7-9. Analyze functions using different representations

F-BF 1-2. Build a function that models a relationship between two quantities

Engineering (Source)

HS-ETS1-4. Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with

numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.

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