Video Description: New August 2022! Learn directly from engineers with NASA’s Mercury program and see NASA footage of the time as they describe the design, features, and building process for the Mercury space capsule.

• Prior to viewing the video give the students the dimensions of the original Mercury capsule: 9 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter at the base. With that knowledge, have them “think like an engineer” and list challenges they would face knowing those dimensions had to be maintained and that the capsule had to provide a space for an astronaut to be launched, orbit, and return safely to earth all the while staying in communication with NASA. Then view the video to see how the NASA engineers dealt with those challenges and others.
• Use the video to inspire student STEM projects of their own designing a space capsule for today’s astronaut to go back to the Moon. What shape would they employ? What materials would they use? What new technologies could help them deal with the engineering challenges of the early space program?
• View the video in advance to create a list of vocabulary terms you want the students to listen for and attempt to define based on what they learn in context in the video. After viewing the video, discuss the terms, student definitions, and the actual definitions.

To learn more about the technology available at the beginning of the space race with three NASA Mercury Program engineers, check out the full program this segment is edited from: History in the First Person: Building the Mercury Capsule.