Last week, an American spacecraft called Peregrine One tried to land on the Moon, but it didn't work out. There was a problem with the engine that stopped it from landing. So, the people in charge decided to make the spacecraft destroy itself by entering Earth's atmosphere and burning up over the Pacific Ocean. A tracking station in Australia confirmed that they lost contact with the spacecraft. It's unlikely that any parts of it will survive and make it to the ocean.

The company in charge of the mission, Astrobotic, wanted to deliver five instruments from NASA to study the Moon's environment. If it had worked, this would have been the first American mission in 50 years and the first time a private company landed on the Moon. But they ran into some problems right after launching. Even though things were tough, the engineers were able to figure out what went wrong and make the spacecraft last longer than they thought it would. They were able to fix some things and send it back to Earth. Even though they didn't reach their main goal, it's still really impressive what they were able to do.

The problem with the spacecraft was that some of the fuel was leaking from a tank. This made the spacecraft unstable and the solar panels couldn't keep it powered. But even with all these issues, some of the instruments on board were still able to work and collect data. They learned about the radiation between Earth and the Moon. One of the instruments, called the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer, did really well in tests and might get to go on future missions to the Moon.

Astrobotic is the first of three American companies working with NASA to send a lander to the Moon this year. NASA is paying these companies to help with future missions to the Moon. Astrobotic will get another chance later this year to try landing on the Moon with a NASA rover called Viper. Another company called Intuitive Machines will also try landing on the Moon next month. All of these missions are part of a bigger plan to explore and study the Moon's surface.

Original news source: Peregrine lander: American Moon mission destroyed over Pacific Ocean (BBC)

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Give each group a few minutes to read the article silently. Then, have them work together to write a brief summary of the key points of the article. After they have finished, ask each group to share their summary with the class.
– Opinion Poll
Instructions: Give each student a sheet of paper and ask them to write down their opinion on the following question: "Do you think the Peregrine One mission was a success or a failure? Why?" Once everyone has written their opinion, collect the sheets and shuffle them. Then, distribute the sheets randomly to the students, making sure that no one receives their own paper. Instruct the students to read the opinion they received and discuss it with a partner, either agreeing or disagreeing and providing reasons for their stance.
– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Write a selection of key vocabulary words from the article on the board. Divide the class into two teams. Call up one student from each team and show them a vocabulary word. They must then draw a quick sketch of the word on the board, without using any letters or numbers. The rest of their team must guess the word based on the drawing. The team that guesses correctly gets a point. Continue until all the words have been drawn.
– Pros and Cons
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a few minutes to discuss and list the pros and cons of the Peregrine One mission. After they have finished, ask each group to share their lists with the class. Facilitate a class discussion about the different points raised, encouraging students to provide reasoning and examples to support their opinions.
– Future Predictions
Instructions: In pairs or small groups, ask the students to discuss and make predictions about the future of space exploration based on the information in the article. Prompt them with questions such as: "What do you think will be the next big breakthrough in space exploration?" and "Do you think private companies will play a bigger role in space missions in the future?" After they have finished discussing, invite a few groups to share their predictions with the class and facilitate a short class discussion.

Last week, an American ? ? Peregrine One tried to land on the Moon, but it didn't work out. There was a problem with the engine that stopped it from landing. So, the people in charge decided to make the spacecraft destroy itself by ? Earth's atmosphere and burning up over the Pacific ?. A tracking station in Australia confirmed that they lost contact with the spacecraft. It's unlikely that any parts of it will survive and make it to the ocean. The company in charge of the mission, Astrobotic, ? to deliver five instruments from NASA to ? the Moon's environment. If it had worked, this would have been the first American mission in 50 years and the first time a private company landed on the Moon. But they ran into some problems right after launching. Even though things were tough, the engineers were able to figure out what went wrong and make the spacecraft last longer than they ? it would. They were able to fix some things and send it back to ?. Even though they didn't reach their main goal, it's still really impressive what they were able to do. The problem with the spacecraft was that some of the fuel was leaking from a tank. This made the spacecraft unstable and the ? panels couldn't keep it powered. But even with all these issues, some of the ? on ? were still able to work and collect data. They learned about the ? between Earth and the Moon. One of the instruments, called the Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer, did really well in tests and might get to go on future ? to the Moon. Astrobotic is the first of three American companies working with NASA to send a lander to the Moon this year. NASA is paying these companies to help with future missions to the Moon. Astrobotic will get another chance later this year to try landing on the Moon with a NASA ? called ?. Another company called Intuitive ? will also try landing on the Moon next month. All of these missions are part of a bigger plan to explore and study the Moon's surface.

1. What do you think about the idea of a private company landing on the Moon?
2. How would you feel if you were part of the team working on the spacecraft and it didn't work out?
3. Do you think it's important for humans to explore and study the Moon? Why or why not?
4. What is a tracking station and what do you think its role is in space missions?
5. How do you think the engineers felt when they were able to fix some of the problems with the spacecraft?
6. Do you like the idea of future missions to the Moon? Why or why not?
7. What do you think the engineers learned from this mission that will help them in future missions?
8. How would you feel if you were chosen to go on a mission to the Moon?
9. What is a private company and how is it different from a government agency like NASA?
10. Do you think it's important for NASA to work with private companies for space missions? Why or why not?
11. How do you think the scientists felt when they were able to collect data even with all the problems the spacecraft had?
12. What do you think the scientists hope to learn from studying the Moon's environment?
13. How would you feel if you were one of the instruments on board the spacecraft and you were still able to work despite the problems?
14. What is a rover and what do you think its role is in space missions?
15. Do you think humans will ever be able to live on the Moon? Why or why not?

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