Unit 14: Space Exploration

Unit 14: Space Exploration

This unit scans developments in astronomy, from the early astronomers to instruments astronomers currently use in collecting information about space.

Student Goals

• Research astronomers of the past.
• Examine how information about Earth and space are gathered.
• Explore Internet sites to gain knowledge about space missions or satellites.
• Know that funds for science research come from the federal government, industry, and private foundations.

Unit Focus

• Understand that no matter how well one theory fits observations, a new theory might fit them as well or better, or might fit a wider range of observations, because in science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends and leads to an increasingly better understanding of how things work in the world, but not to absolute truth.
• Know that technological problems often create a demand for new scientific knowledge and that new technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in a way that advances science.
• Know that funds for science research come from federal government agencies, industry, and private foundations and that this funding often influences the areas of discovery.