Science // Space Exploration

What Astronauts Do

Know that astronauts are people who travel to space in rockets, that humans have walked on the Moon (Apollo missions), and that astronauts today live and work on the International Space Station

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
2 topics

Quick check

Can the learner tell you what an astronaut is, and that people have actually walked on the Moon and live on a space station?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Define an astronaut as a person who travels to space
  • State that humans landed on the Moon during the Apollo missions
  • Describe the International Space Station as a place where astronauts live and work in orbit around Earth

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Our Solar SystemHelpful

    Space Exploration // Ages 5 to 7

    Knowing about space and planets provides context for understanding astronauts

You are here

What Astronauts Do

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

2 topics
  • Space Robots & RoversRequired

    Space Exploration // Ages 7 to 9

    Must know about space exploration and astronauts before learning about robotic exploration

  • Space Exploration MilestonesRequired

    Space Exploration // Ages 9 to 11

    Must know about astronauts and Moon landings before learning detailed space exploration history

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For 5–7 year olds, introduce astronauts as real people with a job who travel to space in rockets. The aim is factual awareness plus wonder: knowing what an astronaut is and a few vivid, concrete things they do (float, eat from pouches, sleep strapped in, do experiments, look down on Earth, and wear a spacesuit to go outside), that humans walked on the Moon during Apollo, and that astronauts today live and work on the International Space Station orbiting Earth. Lead with the memorable microgravity details that make 'working in space' concrete. State the reason for floating simply and honestly — astronauts and the Station are falling around Earth together in orbit — and avoid saying 'there is no gravity in space', the key misconception to steer around.

Common misconceptions

  • Astronauts float because 'there is no gravity in space' (they float because they are in continual free fall / orbit around Earth — state simply, don't entrench the no-gravity idea)
  • Astronauts can breathe normally in open space / don't need a spacesuit (the suit provides air and protection; space has no air)
  • The Moon landings and living on the ISS are the same thing / happening now on the Moon (Apollo walked on the Moon in the past; the ISS orbits Earth today — no one currently lives on the Moon)
  • Astronauts fly to the stars or other planets routinely (so far people have only travelled to the Moon and to orbit around Earth)
  • An astronaut is a kind of superhero rather than a trained person doing a job (they are scientists/pilots/engineers who train for years)

Useful representations

  • A labelled picture of an astronaut in a spacesuit (helmet, air, gloves) — the naming reference
  • A cutaway/scene of life on the ISS (floating, sleeping strapped in, eating from pouches, doing experiments)
  • Real photos/footage of the Apollo Moon walks and of the ISS orbiting Earth
  • A simple 'rocket → space → living in orbit' picture sequence

Teaching practices

  • Lead with vivid, concrete details of life in space — floating, catching drifting water blobs, velcro and handrails, sleeping bags strapped to the wall, eating from pouches — which make 'what astronauts do' real and questionable for young children
  • Use real imagery and short clips of astronauts on the ISS and of the Apollo Moon walks; first-hand-feeling footage beats description at this age
  • Frame astronauts as people with a job (pilots, scientists, engineers) who train hard — supporting aspiration and countering 'astronaut = superhero' vagueness
  • State the reason for floating simply and correctly if asked — they are falling around the Earth in orbit — and avoid saying 'there is no gravity in space', which seeds a stubborn misconception
  • Anchor a few landmark facts lightly: people walked on the Moon (Apollo); the ISS is where astronauts live and work now — without a full history timeline (that is a later topic)

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Explore a Space Station scene

    Why it works: Astronauts are people doing a job in space; living in microgravity looks surprising (floating food, sleeping on a wall), floating happens because they are in continual free fall around Earth — not because gravity has vanished — and the spacesuit is for going outside where there is no air.

    1. Look at a cutaway scene of life on the International Space Station and point to or tap each part to hear one short, true fact.
    2. Find and name the astronaut floating inside the Station in ordinary clothes; notice the floating blob of water drifting instead of pouring down, the sleeping bag zipped and strapped to the wall, dinner coming from a pouch, and the big window looking down on the blue curve of Earth.
    3. Find a separate labelled spacesuit (helmet and gloves) and learn it is what astronauts put on to go OUTSIDE the Station — it gives them air and protection because space has no air.
    4. Look at a rocket beside the scene ('this is how they get up there') and a real Apollo Moon-walk photo ('people once walked on the Moon').
    5. Ask or explore 'why does everything float?' and check the answer: the astronaut and everything around them are falling around the Earth together, which is why it all floats.
  2. 2

    Ask an astronaut (in-role conversation)

    Why it works: Astronauts are real people with experiences a child can ask about; turning facts into a back-and-forth conversation is intended to deepen engagement and draw out the experiential 'what it is like to live in space' detail.

    1. Pose simple questions to a friendly astronaut character in role on the ISS — spoken aloud or chosen from picture-button prompts ('sleeping', 'eating', 'floating', 'the Moon') so pre-readers can still ask.
    2. Ask what floating feels like, how they sleep, what they eat, and what they can see out the window.
    3. Follow up with their own wonder questions and listen to short, concrete, awe-filled answers.
  3. 3

    Check and sort the key facts

    Why it works: The landmark facts — astronaut = person who goes to space, people walked on the Moon in the past, the ISS is where they live and work now — can be recalled and distinguished.

    1. Answer 'What is an astronaut?' (a person who travels to space).
    2. Match astronaut kit to its job: sealed helmet → keeps in the air the astronaut breathes (the suit's backpack supplies the air), suit → protection for going outside.
    3. Point to the picture that shows where astronauts live and work now (the ISS orbiting Earth).
    4. Say whether people live on the Moon today (no — Apollo astronauts visited in the past; astronauts now live on the Station near Earth).

Science // Space Exploration

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