The Solar System | Our Local Neighborhood Module Outline |

The Solar System | Our Local Neighborhood Module Outline

What’s the farthest distance you’ve ever traveled? Did it take hours? Days? Years? Our solar system is a huge place, but after training on the Hab, exploring off planet is the next step to living in space. Join us for an overview of our solar system and what’s beyond as we take those first steps.

OLN.A | Our Local Neighborhood

So what’s the neighborhood like when our Aquanauts head off to space? We’re taking a trip to see the sights around our solar system, so come on along!

OLN.B | Earth

We’ve talked about the Earth as inhabitants, but what about its place in the solar system? We’re starting out from home here on Earth as we visit the Moon and beyond, so have a quick last look before we head out.

OLN.C | Life on the ISS

Ever wonder how big the ISS is really? It’s bigger than you might expect, and you might be surprised to learn about some of the leftovers from the years we’ve had people living in orbit. Here’s your chance to really get to know it.

OLN.D | The Moon

The ‘Man in the Moon’ is actually the “Men on the Moon” today, and there are still lots of interesting things to learn about this most familiar of our neighbors.

OLN.E | The Daring Dozen

Meet the daring, heroic “Men on the Moon” who paved the way for our current explorations of Mars and the solar system.

OLN.F | Hot, Hotter, Hottest

Heading off to visit the Sun as we take the scenic route through the Inner Planets, the temperature’s rising and our trip is really getting rolling.

OLN.G | Venus

“Beauty is only skin deep” takes on new meaning on Venus, a planet known for its spectacular appearance in the night sky and a deadly surface below the clouds.

OLN.H | Mercury

Flashing around the sun faster than anything else in our neighbourhood, Mercury earns its name and heralds the last planetary body between us and the furnace at the centre of our solar system.

OLN.I | The Sun

The centre of the solar system was once thought to be the centre of the universe, but today we know that our Sun is one of billions in our galaxy alone. This is ours though, and we depend on it for life itself.

OLN.J | ‘S’ is for Syzygy

What does the Sun going dark in the daytime or the Moon turning red have to do with our place in the Solar System? It’s a riddle that has helped us redefine our Universe.

OLN.K | Lesson Quizzes, Games & Bonus Questions

Space is a pretty exciting part of science, so just how much have you learned while on our trip? Check yourself to find out.

OLN.L| Dive Deeper

Want to know more? Check out these resources, including some great videos and a very cool Earth to Mars distance tracker as well as lots more!

Your OLN Module Progress

10 Fun Facts: The Hab

1. Aquarius is the the world’s only permanent undersea research station.

2. Most missions last about two or three weeks.

3. Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, beat his grandfather’s record month-long underwater expedition by spending 31 days on the Aquarius Reef Base in 2014.

4. The lab is used by NASA, the US Navy, and researchers and educators from around the globe for training and research.

5. The internet connection is better in the Hab than at many places above the water.

6. You have to swim underneath the facility in order to enter it.

7. Crew members are called aquanauts (NOT aquaNUTS!)

8. In 1994, a crew of scientists and divers had to evacuate Aquarius and climb up a rescue line to the surface in 15-foot seas after one of the habitat’s generators caught fire.

9. Aquarius was featured in the comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon in 2012.

10. The Hab was originally built in Texas.

10 Fun Facts: Coral

1. Reefs usually grow up on the east shore of land masses.

2. Parts of a coral reef can be harvested to make medications to treat cancers and other illnesses.

3. A coral reef isn’t a single organism; it’s actually a community of life that lives and thrives in one location.

4. Only about one percent of the world’s oceans contain coral reefs. That’s about the size of France.

5. Coral reefs are the largest biological structures on earth.

6. Corals are related to jellyfish and anemones.

7. There are over 2,500 species of corals. About 1,000 are the hard corals that build coral reefs.

8. Reefs grow where there are stronger wave patterns and currents to deliver food and nutrients.

9. The Great Barrier Reef is 500,000 years old.

10. Most coral reefs grow just about two centimeters per year.

10. Most coral reefs grow just about two centimeters per year.

10 Fun Facts: Invasive Species

1. To be considered invasive, a species must adapt to a new area easily. It must reproduce quickly. It must harm property, the economy, or the native plants and animals of the region.

2. Some invasive species are introduced accidentally, but others are brought deliberately.

3. Ship ballast water transports between 3,000 and 7,000 foreign species daily around the globe.

4. The total loss to the world economy as a result of invasive non-native species has been estimated at 5% of annual production

5. Invasive species have contributed to 40% of the animal extinctions that have occurred in the last 400 years.

6. Rodents are some of the worst invasive species.

7. There are an estimated 50,000 wild ring-necked parakeets in parks across London and southeast England.

8. Black and Norway rats annually consume stored grains and destroy other property valued over $19 billion.

9. Northern Pacific seastars reproduce very quickly. In one area where they were introduced, their population reached an estimated 12 million seastars in just two years.

10. Starlings were introduced to New York in the late 1800s, as part of an attempt to bring animals that were mentioned in Shakespeare‘s work to America.

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