What Technology Was Like When the Space Race Began
5:31
Grades: 3 - 5
Video Description: New March 2023! Learn about and see examples of the technology available at the beginning of the space race with three NASA Mercury Program engineers.
Type of Video: Segment*
Unique Video ID: Space-53**
Quick Ideas for Using the Video:
- Before viewing the video, ask students what challenges they believe the Mercury engineers experienced. After viewing the video, check to see if anyone thought of ground to rocket communications.
- After viewing the video, ask students to imagine a time before the existence of present-day electronic devices, such as described by the engineers. Have them think of their school tasks and the time it takes to complete these. How much longer do they estimate that completing these daily school tasks would take if done completely by hand, with reference books, paper and pencil, etc.?
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. (Unique ID: Space-11)
*Segment videos are short excerpts edited from interviews or interactive programs that offer flexible and differentiated ways to use the rich content included in the full-length conversation.
**The unique Video ID can be used to quickly locate a single video in the ET collection. This search function is designed to let teachers assign students to watch a specific video and have only that video appear as a search result. Just click on Search and choose “By Video ID.” Then type in the Video ID as it appears above. Be sure to include the dash.
