Frequently Asked Questions

How long should I be spending on each Mission?

There are six MISSIONS.

Each MISSION has three ACTIVITIES.

Each Activity is designed to be delivered in one lesson of whatever length of time you choose (generally one Science, one Maths, one English), with the potential to expand this into more lessons if you want.

We think that you’ll get the most value from the resources by running this as a cross-curricular, project-based piece of learning that is the focus of your teaching across at least 6 weeks.

Do I need to complete all six Missions?

You can do as many or as few Missions as you choose. But we think (hope!) your students will get the most from the project if they complete all six.

Everyone starts with the rank of CADET and if they get all six Mission Badges will “level up” (or graduate) to the rank of AGENT and receive a certificate with Tim’s signature 🙂

Can I take part without being part of a school?

Yes! You can take part as an individual or a team. Your team might be a class in a school, an after school club, or a home education group. You could even just do this at weekends or after school FOR FUN!

If you take part as a team, you as Team Leader should deliver the tasks with guidance from the downloadable Activity Plans. You’ll also be in charge of awarding Badges.

If you take part as an individual you’ll just need to find an adult to be your Team Leader, you and they can both access the downloadable resources through the website but they’ll need to award your badges once the work for each Mission is complete.

I missed The Astro Science Challenge: LIVE! Can I still join the adventure?

Yes!

The Astro Science Challenge: LIVE! was a live run through of the adventure between April – June 2020. The live adventure may have finished, but the Mission resources can still be found on our Team Leader Resources page and all the broadcasts (including our interviews with astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Suni Williams) are still live on our YouTube channel.

Some of the work is beyond the capability of my Cadets, what shall I do?

It’s important to remember that as a Team Leader you are in control of the project for your Cadets. We are not judging any of the work against any criteria, because we know Cadets have different abilities. We leave awarding the Badges to you because you know your Cadets best, and we trust that you’ll award them when they’ve reached their full potential, whatever that might be. In the Activity Plans we have suggested a “scaling” of response for children of different ages or ability. And if you want to simplify some of the activities (or develop them further) to make sure your Cadets understand it, that’s OK!

Can I watch all the Space Shed videos in one place?

Yes, you can find everything on the UNSA YouTube Channel

Do the Space Shed videos have subtitles?

Yes. If you are watching the videos on a tablet or phone you may need to view them at full screen in order to access the subtitles.

How much time will I spend on the computer?

As a Team Leader you will need to download the Activity Plans, PowerPoint presentations and any additional documents ahead of each Mission. You’ll need access to the internet to watch the Mission Episodes and Playlists too. There is only one activity that needs access to computers for the Cadets – Mission 4: Astro Coding. Other than this, it’s up to you to decide whether the materials your Cadets produce is computer-based or not.

Can I do the Astro Science Challenge non-digitally?

Yes. The Resources are free to download and you can just do all the tasks on paper if you wish. There are printable badges you can use in the Resources section.