BioEd Online

Lessons

Grades 3-5

• Get A Leg Up
  Students learn about body fluid shift in an activity from NASA

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Grades 5-8

• Pumping Up the Stress
  Students study blood flow and body position in an activity presented by NASA SCI Files^TM. This activity is a part of The Case of the Physical Fitness Challenge.

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Grades 5-9

• Muscles and Bones
  Ten classroom activities that help students understand how the body's muscles and bones work, and how research conducted in space can help us learn about our bodies here on Earth.

Additional Activities/Extensions

• Discuss how the microgravity environment in an orbiting spacecraft might alter the way astronauts carry out their normal daily activities.

• Have students investigate different kinds of muscle fiber and the capacities of these fibers for physical activity.

• Ask students to design exercise equipment for use in space, or a fitness center for a lunar or Mars base.

• Have students construct and maintain a logbook of their personal fitness activities.

Additional Resources

Your Body in Space: Use It or Lose It
This article, written for students, describes the three main exercises employed by astronauts on the International Space Station.

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Exercise Countermeasures Lab
This website contains articles describing NASA's multiple research projects to keep astronauts healthy in microgravity.

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To Keep Fit in Space, Train Like an Athlete
To keep astronauts healthy during long space missions, researchers at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) are developing an integrated exercise program that addresses a number of the physical changes caused by microgravity.

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AstroBiology Magazine
Exercise and human physiology in space are among many topics related to astrobiology covered in NASA's online AstroBiology Magazine.

National Science Standards

K-4 Standards

Life Science–Organisms and their Environments

• Organisms have basic needs. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their needs can be met.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives–Personal Health

• Individuals have some responsibility for their own health. Students should engage in personal care–dental hygiene, cleanliness, and exercise–that will maintain and improve health.

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5-8 Standards

Life Science–Regulation and Behavior

• All organisms must be able to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

• Regulation of an organism's internal environment involves sensing the internal environment and changing physiological activities to keep conditions within the range required to survive.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives–Personal Health

• Regular exercise is important to the maintenance and improvement of health. Personal exercise, especially developing cardiovascular endurance, is the foundation of physical fitness.

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9-12 Standards

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives–Personal and Community Health

• Personal choice concerning fitness and health involves multiple factors. Personal goals, peer and social pressures, ethnic and religious beliefs, and understanding of biological consequences all can influence decisions about health practices.