Make an Astronaut Lander

Become an engineer as you create a safe way to land your marshmallow astronauts on a hard surface. Try experimenting with whatever materials you have on hand. If your lander doesn’t work the way you want it to, modify and try again.

Scroll down to read real reviews from educators and parents with helpful tips and tricks!

Time Needed:: 45-60 minutes
Grade:: 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade
Subject:: Engineering, Physics, Space Science

Educator Rating:

4.3

Parent Rating:

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Educator Reviews

4.3

Based on 6 reviews

1

5

0

Mr. Brian

As Moon as Possible

This activity takes about an hour to complete . In the activity, scientists are challenged to build a lander from a considerable drop height whilst making sure their marshmallow “astronauts” arrive safe and sound. I have taught this activity numerous times in the context of summer camp and afterschool programs. This is guaranteed to be a hit with learners who are into engineering and designing the perfect capsule to make sure their astronauts are safe. JPL always provides substantial vocabulary and integrates the design process into the procedure. This is a perfect project for those who want to be challenged to an engineering project you can do with friends or individually. Give it a time limit and you can have a space race.

Jasmine

In this activity, you are creating a lander that needs to stay upright and with its passenger still within the vehicle. It’s challenging and engaging and can be used for students from 4th grade and up. There is a lot of area to expand on, such as making a stable lander from increasing height ranges to comparing the variety of different lander structures created.

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Josh

I've really enjoyed all the content from JPL NASA. The instructions are good and thorough and the concept is really fun. It's also a great way to sneak in a small history lesson about the moon landing. Some of the materials might not be as readily available as we may want them to be (for example, I don't keep plastic straws in my house, so I had to improvise with small, rolled up papers), but I really recommend this activity for it's learning potential and fun!

Maria, DiscoveryCube Instructor

Engineering design projects like this one not only reinforce science concepts but also build teamwork, inspire imagination, promote persistence and are fully engaging. This project requires easy to gather materials and can be done by one individual child or a group of kids. Kids will go through all the steps of questioning "what if. . . .", planning, building, testing, observing and re-designing just like real scientists and engineers. I also love that the lesson and video are also available in Spanish.

Mitch

This resource provides an engaging and informative video introducing interstellar landers and encourages the student to create their own. The steps provided are perfectly formatted to follow a proper engineering and design process to this STEM project. Although the site does prompt the viewer to test and redesign, some young learners may need the support of an involved and enthusiastic adult to keep the learner engaged in the project, helping them identify problems and coming up with solutions. It would be great and more interesting if the site included some designs made by other viewers, submitted to the site.

Karen

This activity is engaging and interesting for students to utilize their creativity and problem-solving skills. The introduction provides a good summary of the objective and challenges that students will need to consider when constructing their astronaut lander. Having taught this activity in a classroom setting before, the most difficult part for students is using only the allotted amount of materials. So, I give students a budget. I explain to them that their budget could only afford what they are given and if they need more of a certain material, they will have to barter with another team for more materials they need. This activity is great for upper elementary students because they get creative with their designs and build some amazing lander's.

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