We are in a new era of private space exploration, new space suits, musical performances with curriculum guides, and a mission to support research to eradicate cancer.  A tall order and a work in progress!

The Polaris Program!  What is NASA's role? See below.

Polaris Dawn Program was launched from Florida for a 5 days mission. This is a private enterprise space exploration program funded primarily by one of the astronauts on board and Elon Musk of SPACEX. 

Polaris Dawn has 5 main objectives:

High Altitude

The First Commercial Space Walk

In-Space Communications

Health Impact Research

Spacex has also designed new space suits for future exploration addressing new needs of flexibility.  

About the Mission

https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/

Meet the Team of astronauts on Polaris Dawn

Full Interviews of the Polaris Dawn crew 

Polaris Dawn Mission Commander Jared Isaacman (the billionaire who helped fund the Polaris Dawn project with Elon Musk) 

Jared Isaacman is the CEO of Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR), the leader in integrated payment processing solutions. He is an accomplished pilot & astronaut with over 7,000 flight hours of aviation experience, including ratings in multiple experimental and ex-military aircraft. He was the commander of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space that helped raise over $240 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® to help eradicate childhood cancer.

Jared also holds several world records including two speed-around-the-world flights in 2008 and 2009 that raised money and awareness for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. He has flown in over 100 airshows as part of the Black Diamond Jet Team, dedicating every performance to charitable causes. In 2011, Isaacman co-founded what would become the world’s largest private air force, Draken International, to train pilots for the United States Armed Forces.

HARMONY OF RESILIENCE – the Music connection

The Polaris Program has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and El Sistema USA ® to create the Harmony of Resilience. This partnership is grounded in a shared belief in the power of human resilience and pursuit of extraordinary goals.  Inspired by the universal language of music and the relentless fight against childhood cancers and diseases, this moment was created with the hope of inspiring the next generation to look towards the stars. Not just to dream, but to overcome, persevere, and achieve the seemingly impossible

The song in the video, "Rey's Theme," was written by John Williams for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and was performed by Gillis aboard the Polaris Dawn mission's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

The links and video of the performance which went live on Sept. 13, 2024 are below, with the music curriculum developed by El Sistema USA.

 The Polaris Dawn and El Sistema USA Curriculum: A Musician’s Guide to Reaching for the Stars.

A Musician’s Guide to Reaching For the Stars

Educator Guides for Music Mission Prep:

https://polarisdawn.elsistemausa.org/#mission

 Sarah Gillis is a classically trained violinist, engineer and Polaris Dawn Mission Specialist

Music link on X in which the John Williams music is played by Gillis and 6 locations with students accompanying her.

Meet your Musical Mission Guides from Polaris Dawn

Polaris Dawn Education  (available in several languages with links on the upper right corner of the web page)

For Educators :
The Polaris Dawn & El Sistema USA®

STUDENT CURRICULUM

https://polarisdawn.elsistemausa.org/mission-prep-zone-1-daring-to-dream/

Mission Zone 1 : Who Supports Your Big Dreams ?  Classroom Expansion

Mission Prep  Zone 2 : Classroom Expansion - What Strengths  Do you Bring to a Team?

Mission Prep Zone 3: Training for Space Life – How Might It Feel to Make Music in Microgravity?

Mission Prep Zone 4: Plotting the Mission Timeline

Mission Prep Zone 5: Looking Toward the Next Adventure -What Will Space Adventures Be Like in the Future?

Sarah Gillis interviews composer Kevin Day about how composing for space fuels his enthusiasm and musical creativity.

A perspective the mission from space.com:

The crew has also tested in-flight communications using SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation and conducted outreach with the public, all while raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospitaland breaking altitude records, flying higher than any crewed mission in orbit since Gemini 11 in 1966.

NASA is working closely with Polaris Dawn and here are some of the ways:

NASA to Test Telemedicine, Gather Essential Health Data With Polaris Dawn Crew

Polaris Dawn crew members participating in these TRISH (Translational Research Institute for Health) studies will provide data about how spaceflight affects mental and physical health through a rigorous set of medical tests and scans completed before, after, and during the mission. The work will include assessments of behavior, sleep, bone density, eye health, cognitive function, and other factors, as well as analysis of blood, urine, and respiration.

NASA’s Human Research Program is working to develop methods that will protect health and performance of astronauts in space.

SPACEX has developed new space suits designed for more flexibility during space walks (EVA’s – Extra Vehicular Activities) as part of the Polaris Dawn mission.

This raises many questions about government's role in space exploration, its ability to fund the many initiatives currently underway, and concerns about oversight while encouraging new opportunities to pursue space exploration.  3 - 5    6 - 8    9 - 12    13+    Science    Technology    Art/Music    Polaris mission    Polaris Dawn    NASA    Music in Microgravity private space exploration

Nestled in southeast Kansas, this little town has witnessed its own version of history with oil, the Osage Nation, and populism. Here are use a few examples.

Second column, top. Loathes the railroad monopolies making it too expensive for Standard Oil and others to ship oil from Neodesha, Kansas and other interior townships that live or die at the mercy of monopolies. Argues for government ownership of the railroads.  Social Studies/History    Kansas    Oil    Railroads    Monopolies  

Nestled in southeast Kansas, this little town has witnessed its own version of history with oil, the Osage Nation, and populism. Here are use a few examples.

This album attempts to collect coverage of the Kickapoo Nation in Illinois, more specifically the approximately 400 members who followed Chief Kenekuk and resided near Danville, Illinois. This portion of the Kickapoo (not to be confused with the “prairie Kickapoo”) is unique because they were allowed to reside peacefully in southern Illinois after other nations were removed in the early 1800s. Attitudes shifted against the peaceful Kenekuk Kickapoo after the 1832 Bad Axe Massacre (or “Battle”) between Chief Black Hawk’s Sauk Nation and the U.S. Army. The intention of this album is to attempt to capture this shift in white attitudes toward the Kickapoo pre and post 1832.  6 - 8    9 - 12    Native American History    Kickapoo    Newspapers    Media Literacy    Kenekuk    Illinois  

I always read any Library blog post written by Michelle Krowl, and this one is no exception. It is centered on a letter written by a Civil War soldier named Private William M. Phile to his sister, in which he describes the effect of "picket duty" on his clothing. Unlike so many handwritten letters from that or any period, this one is clear enough that even students who may be less adept at reading cursive should be able to decipher it. 

This letter could be used alone as a prompt for the Question Formulation Technique. Another prompt could be simply "Picket Duty," with student-generated questions to be followed by handing out the letter for students to analyze in small groups. 

My guess is that few students will know the definition of picket duty. Can they build a definition by searching on the term at loc.gov? I also found a fascinating article from the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech that explained the importance of picketing:

"The security of an army depended on its pickets – the sentinels who provided early warning of infiltration or enemy attack. Without them an army was in constant danger of being overrun without warning. So important was this that a negligent soldier, especially one who fell asleep, was severely punished and might even be executed."

This album attempts to collect coverage of the Kickapoo Nation in Illinois, more specifically the approximately 400 members who followed Chief Kenekuk and resided near Danville, Illinois. This portion of the Kickapoo (not to be confused with the “prairie Kickapoo”) is unique because they were allowed to reside peacefully in southern Illinois after other nations were removed in the early 1800s. Attitudes shifted against the peaceful Kenekuk Kickapoo after the 1832 Bad Axe Massacre (or “Battle”) between Chief Black Hawk’s Sauk Nation and the U.S. Army. The intention of this album is to attempt to capture this shift in white attitudes toward the Kickapoo pre and post 1832.  6 - 8    9 - 12    Native American History    Kickapoo    Newspapers    Media Literacy    Kenekuk    Illinois  

Greetings from the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill!

As part of our outreach mission, we provide educators with the tools, resources, and knowledge needed to teach about the history, cultures, and languages of the region.

Through a grant from the Library of Congress - Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Eastern Region program, we are currently developing a professional development module for middle and high school history teachers, focusing on teaching about the Cold War using primary sources. Our goal is to equip teachers with resources and strategies for fostering students' historical awareness and understanding of the Cold War's legacies and its impact on contemporary events.

Your input is invaluable at this stage! Please help us tailor this module to ensure that it is both relevant and practical for your classroom. We estimate it will take you no more than 5 minutes to complete the survey - https://forms.office.com/r/PR4vTyc91C

Know a teacher who might be interested? Please share this survey with them!

Thank you for your participation!