Astrobiobound Spacecraft

thingiverse

Model spacecraft engineers design their own space missions using NASA's Astrobiobound lesson plan. The lesson allows students to experience the engineering process firsthand by designing a space mission to search for life in our solar system. They begin by selecting a target planet (Mars, Enceladus, Europa, or Titan) and choosing a mission type (flyby, orbiter, stationary lander, or mobile lander). Next, students select components for their spacecraft, taking into account financial constraints, weight limitations, and power sources. Students must make tough decisions about what features to prioritize in order to stay within budget. We also added a 3D component to the lesson by having students create physical models of their designed spacecraft. Some of these models are challenging to print due to delicate components like communication dishes and robot arms, which often require additional support to hold their shape. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could optimize these designs for printing.