What Is the Artemis Program? (Grades K-4)

This article is for students grades K-4.

Artemis is a new NASA program to explore the Moon. These missions will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon. With the Artemis program, NASA will study the Moon in new and better ways.

Why Is This Program Called Artemis?

The first astronauts landed on the Moon in 1969. The missions were called Apollo. The name Apollo came from stories told by Greek people long ago. In the stories, Apollo was a god.
Apollo had a twin sister. Her name was Artemis. She was the goddess of the Moon in the Greek stories. The first crew will land on the Moon’s South Pole.

What Spacecraft Will Be Used for the Artemis Program?

NASA has a new rocket. It is the Space Launch System. It is called SLS for short. It is the most powerful rocket in the world. SLS will carry the Orion spacecraft on top. Orion can carry up to four astronauts. Orion will fly around, or orbit, the Moon. A spaceship will be orbiting the Moon like the Moon orbits Earth. The spaceship will be called the Gateway. Orion will connect to the Gateway. Astronauts will go from Orion to the Gateway. This is where astronauts will live as they orbit the Moon. The crew will take trips in spacecraft called landers to get to work on the surface of the Moon. Then they will return to Gateway. When all of their work is finished, the crew will return to Earth aboard Orion.

When Will Artemis Go to the Moon?

The first Apollo missions were tests. NASA launched the rocket to be sure it was safe for people and work as planned. Artemis will be tested first, too:

• Artemis 1 will launch SLS and Orion with no astronauts.
• Artemis 2 will have a crew. They will circle past the Moon and return to Earth.
• Artemis 3 will send a crew with the first woman and the next man to land on the Moon.

What Will Artemis Astronauts Do on the Moon?

The Artemis 3 crew will visit the Moon’s South Pole. No one has ever been there. At the Moon, astronauts will:

• Search for the Moon’s water and use it.
• Study the Moon to discover its mysteries.
• Learn how to live and work on a different planet or moon from Earth.
• Test the new tools NASA will need before sending astronauts on missions to Mars. A mission to Mars will take up to three years from Earth and back.

Why Is the Artemis Program Important?

The Moon is a good place to learn new science. NASA will learn more about the Moon, Earth and even the Sun. The Moon is also a place to learn how astronauts can one day live and work on Mars.
The Artemis missions will need new tools. Many companies will make these new tools that NASA will use. This will mean new jobs and new businesses that are good for people and companies on Earth. Other countries will be NASA’s partners for the new Moon missions. They will work on Artemis to bring the world together for a mission to Earth’s nearest neighbor in space.

 
More About Artemis
Puzzle Book
Pencil and Paper Puzzles: Orion Activities and Coloring Sheets For Kids
Space Launch System Coloring Book (PDF)
Story: What Is the Space Launch System?
Story: What Is Orion?
Story: What Was the Apollo Program?
 

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Jennifer B. Adams

SaSa NASA Partners

NASA Langley

• NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group (LARGE)
  • LARGE specializes in making in situ aerosol and cloud measurements and conducting research to improve understanding of atmospheric aerosols and their interactions with water vapor. 
  • LARGE aims to contribute directly to NASA and the Langley Science Directorate goals of translating atmospheric discovery into better solutions to protect the Earth and its people. This is accomplished through investments in people and infrastructure, technology development, and stewardship/dissemination of high-quality data during scientific missions like DISCOVER-AQ and SEAC4RS. To learn more, check out the LARGE website.

Research Group

 The research group supporting the SaSa program includes:  

• Ali Omar
• Richard Moore
• Luke Ziemba
• NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group (LARGE) Members

Instrumentation

Below is a snapshot of instruments and tools Langley uses to support SaSa student projects and the summer airborne science campaigns. More information can be found on the NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group (LARGE) Instruments page.

NASA Goddard

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has unique assets – aircraft, aircraft sensors and experts – to help create an effective learning environment for students.

Research group

GSFC scientists and engineers support the SaSa program, especially in the maintenance of the CAR instrument. The CAR was designed and operated at NASA GSFC until August 2022, when it was transferred to NASA Ames Research Center. This team is lead by:

• Dong Wu, NASA Goddard co-I for the SaSa program
• Research team including Mariel Frieberg.

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Milan Loiacono

What Is a Black Hole? (Grades 5-8)

This article is for students grades 5-8

A black hole is a region in space where the pulling force of gravity is so strong that light is not able to escape. The strong gravity occurs because matter has been pressed into a tiny space. This compression can take place at the end of a star’s life. Some black holes are a result of dying stars.

Because no light can escape, black holes are invisible. However, space telescopes with special instruments can help find black holes. They can observe the behavior of material and stars that are very close to black holes.

How Big Are Black Holes?

Black holes can come in a range of sizes, but there are three main types of black holes. The black hole’s mass and size determine what kind it is.

The smallest ones are known as primordial black holes. Scientists believe this type of black hole is as small as a single atom but with the mass of a large mountain.

The most common type of medium-sized black holes is called “stellar.” The mass of a stellar black hole can be up to 20 times greater than the mass of the sun and can fit inside a ball with a diameter of about 10 miles. Dozens of stellar mass black holes may exist within the Milky Way galaxy.

The largest black holes are called “supermassive.” These black holes have masses greater than 1 million suns combined and would fit inside a ball with a diameter about the size of the solar system. Scientific evidence suggests that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a ball with a diameter about the size of the sun.

How Do Black Holes Form?

Primordial black holes are thought to have formed in the early universe, soon after the big bang.

Stellar black holes form when the center of a very massive star collapses in upon itself. This collapse also causes a supernova, or an exploding star, that blasts part of the star into space.

Scientists think supermassive black holes formed at the same time as the galaxy they are in. The size of the supermassive black hole is related to the size and mass of the galaxy it is in.

If Black Holes Are “Black,” How Do Scientists Know They Are There?

A black hole can not be seen because of the strong gravity that is pulling all of the light into the black hole’s center. However, scientists can see the effects of its strong gravity on the stars and gases around it. If a star is orbiting a certain point in space, scientists can study the star’s motion to find out if it is orbiting a black hole.

When a black hole and a star are orbiting close together, high-energy light is produced. Scientific instruments can see this high-energy light.

A black hole’s gravity can sometimes be strong enough to pull off the outer gases of the star and grow a disk around itself called the accretion disk. As gas from the accretion disk spirals into the black hole, the gas heats to very high temperatures and releases X-ray light in all directions. NASA telescopes measure the X-ray light. Astronomers use this information to learn more about the properties of a black hole.

Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth?

Black holes do not wander around the universe, randomly swallowing worlds. They follow the laws of gravity just like other objects in space. The orbit of a black hole would have to be very close to the solar system to affect Earth, which is not likely.

If a black hole with the same mass as the sun were to replace the sun, Earth would not fall in. The black hole with the same mass as the sun would keep the same gravity as the sun. The planets would still orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now.

Will the Sun Ever Turn Into a Black Hole?

The sun does not have enough mass to collapse into a black hole. In billions of years, when the sun is at the end of its life, it will become a red giant star. Then, when it has used the last of its fuel, it will throw off its outer layers and turn into a glowing ring of gas called a planetary nebula. Finally, all that will be left of the sun is a cooling white dwarf star.

How Is NASA Studying Black Holes?

NASA is learning about black holes using spacecraft like the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Swift satellite and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Fermi launched in 2008 and is observing gamma rays – the most energetic form of light – in search of supermassive black holes and other astronomical phenomena. Spacecraft like these help scientists answer questions about the origin, evolution and destiny of the universe.

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Words to Know

mass: the measurement for the amount of matter in an object

red giant star: a star that is larger than the sun and red
because it has a lower temperature

white dwarf star: a small star, about the size of Earth;
one of the last stages of a star’s life
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More About Black Holes

Space Place in a Snap: What Is a Black Hole?
Black Hole Rescue
Fall Into a Black Hole
Black Holes: By the Numbers Slideshow
Black Hole Travel Postcards

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Sandra May

What Is a Black Hole? (Grades K – 4)

This article is for students grades K-4.
 

A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.

Because no light can get out, people can’t see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.

How Big Are Black Holes?

Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or “stuff,” in an object.

Another kind of black hole is called “stellar.” Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of the sun. There may be many, many stellar mass black holes in Earth’s galaxy. Earth’s galaxy is called the Milky Way.

The largest black holes are called “supermassive.” These black holes have masses that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center.

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths.

How Do Black Holes Form?

Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began.

Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space.

Scientists think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in.

If Black Holes Are “Black,” How Do Scientists Know They Are There?

A black hole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the black hole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the black hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting, a black hole.

When a black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light can not be seen with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light.

Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth?

Even if a black hole the same mass as the sun were to take the place of the sun, Earth still would not fall in. The black hole would have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets would orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now.

Black holes do not go around in space eating stars, moons and planets. Earth will not fall into a black hole because no black hole is close enough to the solar system for Earth to do that.

The sun will never turn into a black hole. The sun is not a big enough star to make a black hole.

How Is NASA Studying Black Holes?

NASA is using satellites and telescopes that are traveling in space to learn more about black holes. These spacecraft help scientists answer questions about the universe.

More About Black Holes

Space Place in a Snap: What Is a Black Hole?
Black Hole Rescue 
Fall Into a Black Hole

Read What Is a Black Hole? (Grades 5-8)

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Flint Wild