Activity at a Glance
LRO Moon Tune

Purpose
Introduce children to the mission objectives of NASA’s 2008 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Mission to the Moon, along with how our Moon formed, its surface features and the processes that shaped them, our search for water and other resources, and the reasons for our return to the Moon. The LRO Moon Tune has also been incorporated into the puppet story, and may be used as a guide for players in “Moon Pie,” and “Mission: Moon.”

Overview
Children sing a song — “The LRO Moon Tune” — to learn about our Moon and NASA’s upcoming LRO Mission

Concepts

• NASA will send the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter — LRO — to the Moon in 2008.
• The LRO will collect data to determine the location of resources, such as water, and the best site for landing subsequent missions and building bases. 
• Learning to live and work on our Moon will help prepare us to explore other planets, such as Mars.
• Significant surface features of the Moon include volcanoes, mountains, craters, and basins.
• The Moon’s craters — and big basins — were formed by comet and asteroid impacts.
• Many scientists believe the Moon itself was formed when a large planet-sized body struck Earth; material blown off Earth orbited Earth, eventually “clumping together” to form our Moon.
• Some of the impacts created deep craters near the Moon’s polar regions that are not exposed to the Sun’s light and heat.  These deep craters may contain significant amounts of water ice. While the Moon does not have a source of water, comets may have delivered ice.
• Water is a very important resource for future human exploration.
• Our Moon will be very exciting to explore — but the environment will be challenging to people who are living and working there — the temperatures are extreme and there is no atmosphere that humans can breathe.

Age Level
This activity is primarily intended for children ages 10–13

Time
10–20 minutes (depending on detail and discussion)

Materials
For each child:

• One copy of "The LRO Moon Tune”
• Music (the song for the LRO Moon Tune, “You Are My Sunshine,” may be downloaded).

Correlations to National Standards

Earth and Space Science – Content Standard D (Grades K–4)

Objects in the Sky

• The Moon has properties, movements, and a location that can be observed and described

Science and Technology – Content Standard E (Grades K–4)

Understanding About Science and Technology

• People have always had questions about their world. Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world.
• Tools help scientists make better observations, measurements, and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.

Grades 5–8

• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and techniques

Language Arts Focus

• Practice listening to and understanding nonfiction text.
• Understand Scientific Terms and Descriptive Scientific Language
• Students use a variety of information resource (e.g., libraries) to gather and synthesize information

Activity
LRO Moon Tune

The song is divided into two parts, on two separate pages. Part 1 mentions the LRO Mission, and emphasizes lunar features and the Moon’s formation, while Part 2 primarily highlights information about the LRO Mission itself. You may choose to sing the entire song, or select the verses that are most appropriate for your audience — or the ones you like best!  Alternatively, let the children take part to sing at home.

You may want to divide the children into groups, with each group responsible for different parts or stanzas.

• Share with the children that in 2008 NASA will be sending a craft to orbit the Moon and collect science information that will help them determine the best place to land and build a base in the future. Tell the children that many special instruments will be on board to help NASA in their investigation, and that water, in the form of ice, is one of the most important resources for which they will be searching.
• Distribute the LRO Moon Tune to the children and review it with them before singing.
• Bold sections are the responses for later reference when the children play the Moon Pie game or Mission: Moon!
• Depending on the children’s learning level, you might also have each group sing, and then later in their own words, explain the information contained within their stanza. 

After finishing the song, review with the children the concepts presented. Note that additional information is provided to address questions the children may have.

• What was the Moon once a part of? (Earth)
• How was it formed? (A large, planet-sized body struck Earth, vaporizing the impactor and hurtling pieces of the impactor and Earth’s outer surface into orbit around Earth. Those pieces eventually clumped together — accreted — to form our Moon)
• How are craters on the Moon formed? (Craters are formed when asteroids or comets strike the Moon. Most of the larger craters formed early in the Moon’s history, until about 3.9 billion years ago; however the Moon and other planetary bodies still are hit by asteroids and comets occasionally)
• What important resource may comets deliver to the Moon when they strike? (Ice; comets contain water ice).
• Why would ice from comets not melt? (If it is in the deep craters, or in the polar regions, where the Sun’s heat does not reach it, it could stay frozen).
• How did the Moon’s dark patches form? (Some craters were later filled by lava that cooled to form smooth, dark areas on the Moon. These dark areas are called “seas” — or mare — but they do not contain, and never have contained, water)
• Why does the Moon not have active volcanoes? (Because it has cooled; the pockets of magma inside that spewed lava onto the surface have cooled)
• What is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter? What will it orbit and for how long? (The LRO is a craft that will be sent by NASA to orbit the Moon for about a year and collect information)
• What kinds of information will the LRO collect for scientists? (Measurements of temperature and radiation from the Sun, maps of rock types, maps and pictures of features, where water may exist)
• Why does NASA want to collect more information about the Moon? (NASA plans to send humans to the Moon around 2018 to build bases. LRO will provide important information about where certain resources — like water and elements in rocks — exist, where the surface is safe for landing and building, and where scientific questions about the Moon’s formation and changes can best be studied. All of these activities will prepare future astronauts to explore Mars and other planets.)

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Last updated
February 21, 2006