NASA Space Sites

50 Years of NASA
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/50th/index.html
This is NASA's 50th Anniversary multimedia feature. Amazing coverage of NASA's happenings over the years. It is set up as an interactive Flash movie. Click on the parts of the picture as the robot guides you through the exhibits. Well worth a visit.

Astro-Venture
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/projects/astrobiology/astroventure/avhome.html
This multimedia website deals with NASA careers and astrobiology research. The concept is to search for and design a habitable planet. Students enter training, are quizzed on their knowledge, and adjust the features of potentially habitable planets to see what makes a planet habitable and why. The recording of student observations ties this activity to the basics of the scientific process.

Be a Spacecraft Engineer
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom/jason/index2.html
"NASA needs your help! As part of an international coalition, it has begun building the International Space Station. But the Space Station is threatened by orbital debris, abandoned satellites, rocket remnants, and many other things. Can you design a spacecraft to protect the Space Station from this 'space junk'?"

Careers in Earth Science
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/career/index.html
Sponsored by NASA, this site provides information about jobs in earth science such as geologist, meteorologist, and forest ranger.

Cassini-Huygens Kids Space
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm  
Cassini Kids Space is a site just for kids, where they can explore the beautiful ringed planet and learn about the spacecraft currently orbiting Saturn. Click on Build a Paper Model for a simple model that students can print, cut out, and put together.

Earth From Space
http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/efs/
View hundreds of amazing images of Earth from space. This site provides images of geographic regions, landscapes, cities, habitats, distinctive features, and much more. These easy to access images are of amazing quality.

Earth Observatory
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Welcome to the Earth Observatory! The site focuses on climate/environmental changes, as well as scientific information on Earth. On the main page, you’ll find the featured sections and Breaking News. Other sections include Data & Images, Features, News, Reference, Missions, and Experiments.

Great Images in NASA
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/
GRIN is a collection of over a thousand images of significant historical interest scanned at high-resolution in several sizes. You can browse by subject or center or do a search by keywords.

Hubble Site
http://hubblesite.org/
This site from NASA is huge and full of interesting things to check out. Categories are Newscenter, Gallery, Discoveries, Hubble Telescope, Explore Astronomy, and more. Be sure to watch the movie "Tonight's Sky." In the Kids section, students can learn how to build a scale model of the Hubble. Online Explorations in the Education & Museums section has great Web-based activities.

Imagers
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/index.html
This NASA site (Goddard Space and Flight Center - gsfc.nasa.gov) seeks to provide earth science resources for teachers of grades K-8. The focus is to teach children about remote sensing and imaging through interactive adventures of characters in literature. Activity books are used to explain the importance of using satellite imagery to better understand habitats, local geographic features, and the environment from space. Leveled activities using aerial photography introduce the concept of perspective to children in a way to better understand their world.

Mars Exploration Rover Mission
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html
With exploration of Mars, the Red Planet, a fact, NASA has had to create a special site just to provide Mars exploration updates. There has been so much traffic on NASA's sites that this one is just for those hooked on Mars. As NASA's official Mars site there is new information and photographs constantly appearing as a result of Spirit's ongoing photographic transmissions. The descriptions of Mars are reasonable in that kids can understand them and the explanations are accompanied by activities that you can do to learn more about Mars. The website gives an overview and features of the planet.

Mars Exploration Rover Mission-2
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/video/animation.html
This series of animations will take you from Earth to the Red Planet in less than 10 minutes. The animation begins with the initial launch and journey through the Earth's atmosphere and continues with the entry into the Martian atmosphere, followed by landing and exploration. This condensed view of a Mars Rover's journey gives an unparalleled look at how these missions are conducted.

NASA Education
http://education.nasa.gov/home/index.html
This is the NASA education portal. There are sections for Kids, Students, Educators, Education News, Elementary & Secondary Education, Higher Education, and Formal Education.

NASA Human Spaceflight Gallery
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/
Search the NASATV database for images, videos, and audio for past present and future space missions.

NASA Images
http://www.nasaimages.org/
"NASA Images" is a service of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library. It was created under a Space Act agreement to offer unprecedented access to NASA media (including images, video, and audio), functioning as a free online library for all of NASA's multimedia content. Users can search for material by keyword or theme (such as Earth, Astronauts, Solar System, or Universe), or they can browse through several featured collections. The site is constantly growing with the addition of current media from NASA, as well as newly digitized media from the archives of the NASA Centers.

NASA Kids'Club
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html
This is an interactive section of the NASA website where kids can learn about space and what it’s like to be an astronaut. The games are fun, while helping students learn science. Buzz Lightyear makes an appearance in a game where students help Buzz prepare to head out into space.

NASA Profiles: Careers in Space Flight
http://profiles.jsc.nasa.gov/
These NASA sites provide information on careers in the aerospace industry. The animation and music make for an exciting virtual tour. Meet the people who have those jobs through videos. Click on the photo gallery and a number of links to several topics addressed by each of the NASA professionals. You can access the information ("Take a Journey") by entering age and gender for appropriate material.

NASA Quest
http://quest.nasa.gov/
NASA Quest provides teachers and students with access to information and resources about NASA's mission and activities. The site delivers dynamic and interactive content about "people, space, and science to classrooms through the Internet." Students from all grade levels can participate in interactive lessons such as "Robin Whirlybird," "AstroVenture," and "Virtual Skies." Information about cutting-edge technologies is available as is information about historical events in aerospace technology. Students can interact with NASA experts, see audio and video events over the Web, engage in collaborative activities with other classes, and ask NASA experts questions through email. Lesson plans and meeting areas for teachers round out the site.

NASA Solar System Exploration
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov 
This is NASA's main website for the unmanned exploration of the solar system. The site offers people-friendly information on the planets and bodies in our solar system and the robotic missions sent out to explore these worlds. Their goal is to be an encyclopedic, engaging and up-to-date resource on solar system exploration. Also in Spanish.

NASA Space Shuttle
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/
This site is NASA's Space Shuttle portal and the best place to visit for the latest news on current and recent missions. Click on Current Missions for Behind the Scenes, Launch & Landing, Multimedia (photos and videos), Vehicle Structure, and much more.

NASA Sun Earth Media Viewer: Live Solar Images
http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/viewer/flash/flash.html  
The Media Viewer is an experimental Flash application built to support Education and Public Outreach activities of NASA's Sun-Earch Connection Education Forum. The viewer allows users to view real-time NASA satellite images of the Sun and the Earth. A thumbnail viewer allows visitors to explore and compare a variety of solar and terrestrial data from a variety of NASA missions and ground-based observatories. In addition, the viewer contains video interviews with scientists and other experts. Computer-generated visualizations and additional NASA footage are also available. Text transcripts and text descriptions are provided along with each image and video.

NASA: The Great Graph Match
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Experiments/Biome/graphindex.php
This is designed for teachers to use in the classroom as a supplementary and interdisciplinary unit. Mission: Biomes is especially appropriate for grades 3 through 8, and is designed to be interactive and self-correcting which will allow each student to work at his or her own pace.

One Year on Mars
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/Anniversary_VisMar/index_noaccess_mars.html
This amazing flash feature highlights a year of discovery on the planet Mars. The site includes movies, photographs, and plans for the future. There are also links to recent discoveries and mission updates.

Ozone Hole Watch
http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
They say there's a hole in the ozone layer, caused by our use of CFC's. But what are CFC's and how do they cause harm? NASA helps to explain at this site, which explores the topic and charts the depletion of the ozone since 1979. It's a visually engaging look at the issue though still images and videos.

Planetary Photojournal
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html
The photographs of the planets shown here were all obtained during NASA missions. To begin viewing one of the more than 1,300 images, click on the planet of your choice, then choose from among the spacecrafts and instruments used to take the pictures. (Grades 3-12)

Planet Quest
http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov/
Created at the Jet Propulsion Labs, this website offers online resources as well as offline activities for middle school and high school students. Highlighting the technology of interferometry (a method employing the interference of electromagnetic radiation to make highly precise measurements of the angle between the two rays of light), students can begin to understand how this technology can change our knowledge of the universe and the search for life on other planets. Virtual tours, 3D models and animations have been created to more clearly show students the work being done by JPL.

Science at NASA
http://science.nasa.gov/
This is science in the news (also in Spanish) with stories based on scientific inquiry. Topics covered include Space Science, Astronomy, Living In Space, Earth Science, Biological and Physical Sciences, Beyond Rocketry, and Satellite Tracking, all links to additional resources. An entire curriculum on space science can come from this site, with the continual updates that keep the material current and interesting. Audio, video, animation and accessible text (for the middle school student) offer material in "kidspeak" for a very useful site. NASA's sites are quite numerous and often it is hard to find specific material. This URL is worth bookmarking.

See Learning in a Whole New Light
http://edspace.nasa.gov/home.html  
Become an Educator Astronaut! For the first time, NASA is recruiting individuals with specific experience and expertise in K-12 education to help lead the Agency in the development of new ways to connect space exploration with the classroom, and to inspire the next generation of explorers. An Educator Astronaut is a fully qualified member of NASA's Astronaut Corps who has an expertise in K-12 education. Find out more at the Educator Astronaut website. Do you know why astronauts eat tortillas in space? Don't miss this and other interesting facts and videos in Living in Space.

Solar System Exploration
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/index.cfm?Display=Flash
This stunning site on the solar system gives a great overview of the planets and our sun. Learn about each object's size, vital statistics, and moons. Then go on for a more in-depth look at these objects in the column on the left. This site features unsurpassed authority, design, and depth of information.

Solar System Simulator
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/
This NASA Solar System Simulator allows visitors to view each of the nine planets in the solar system, their moons, or the sun. You can determine the vantage point from which to see a planet. For example, you can view Saturn from Mars, Earth from the sun, or Jupiter from the Voyager 1 spacecraft. You can also set the date to show views from 1600 to 2399. Suitable for grades 3-12.

Space Place
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/index.shtml
Demonstrates and explains scientific concepts related to astronomy in a fun, hands-on manner that is tailored to grade school children. It is a simple, clutter-free forum where children can learn about such topics as stars, the earth, ions, and interferometry by baking cookies, navigating a maze, and solving a riddle. The explanations that follow the activities are clear and concise.

Space Science News
http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/

StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/
An exciting and colorful way to introduce students to the wonders of our solar system and the universe, StarChild offers its educational tours at two levels. Animations, video clips, and activities help to make the learning experience fun.

Stories From Space
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/stories_from_space/
Stories from Space is a NASA site that tells brief stories about the planets, tools used for exploring space, and "what's in space." Photos of planets, stars, telescopes, and space craft are included.

Welcome To The Planets
http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/
Learn about the planets in our solar system and the spacecraft we send out to explore them. From NASA.

Women of NASA
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/intro.html
Read the profiles of inspirational women of NASA. There is also a link to profiles of the Young Women of NASA Advisory Council. This isn't a brand new site, but it gives insight into the accomplishments of women in our space program.