How can we monitor astronaut health to ensure the success of missions to Mars?

High School | Daily Do

How can we monitor astronaut health to ensure the success of missions to Mars?

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Aerospace Biology Earth & Space Science Is Lesson Plan STEM High School Grades 9-12

Teachers and families across the country are facing a new reality of providing opportunities for students to do science through distance and home learning. The Daily Do is one of the ways NSTA is supporting teachers and families with this endeavor. Each weekday, NSTA will share a sensemaking task teachers and families can use to engage their students in authentic, relevant science learning. We encourage families to make time for family science learning (science is a social process!) and are dedicated to helping students and their families find balance between learning science and the day-to-day responsibilities they have to stay healthy and safe.

Interested in learning about other ways NSTA is supporting teachers and families? Visit the NSTA homepage.

What is Sensemaking?

Sensemaking is actively trying to figure out how the world works (science) or how to design solutions to problems (engineering). Students do science and engineering through the science and engineering practices. Engaging in these practices necessitates that students be part of a learning community to be able to share ideas, evaluate competing ideas, give and receive critique, and reach consensus. Whether this community of learners is made up of classmates or family members, students and adults build and refine science and engineering knowledge together.

Lesson Snapshot

In this lesson, high school students, as scientists, apply life science ideas to answer the driving question: How can we monitor astronaut health to ensure the success of missions to Mars? Students begin by considering how a mission to Mars would affect astronauts’ bodies. From there, they are introduced to one of many problems that will need to be addressed on missions to Mars: elevated CO2 levels. Students will evaluate information, develop a driving question, and share ideas about what they need to investigate to answer their question. The students’ investigation begins by analyzing data from studies on elevated CO2 and task performance. From there, they investigate how elevated CO2 affects human body systems. Next, they evaluate information about how astronaut health is monitored and two different approaches that could be taken. Finally, students work in groups to develop an argument for which approach should be taken for monitoring astronauts’ health on missions to Mars. Groups will receive feedback through a gallery walk and make revisions to their arguments.

This lesson plan was created in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University Press, the Johns Hopkins Office of Research, and Mark Shelhamer, ScD, based on his 2026 Wavelengths book Are We Ready for Mars? The book will be available for free from Project Muse in October 2026. The lesson plan is sponsored by Johns Hopkins Wavelengths, a program dedicated to connecting cutting-edge research with public audiences through books, digital toolkits, museum exhibits, and speaker events.

Click the Download PDF button above for the complete Lesson Plan.

Materials

Student Materials

Per Student

Per Small Group (2 to 4 Students)

Internet-connected device for reaction tests
and slides

Teacher Materials

Additional Resources

Optional Teacher Resources

Lesson plan sponsored by: