Capturing a Whisper from Space: Lesson Activity

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been sending robotic spacecraft out into the solar system. These robots have been our eyes and ears on their journeys to planets and the edge of the solar system. They have been sending images and information back to Earth. None of these missions of discovery would have been possible without the Deep Space Network — a worldwide system of sensitive antennas which communicates with spacecraft. Signals to and from the spacecraft travel extreme distances.
The purpose of the lesson is to apply mathematics practically. Learners get a mathematical model of how the Deep Space Network antennas work and how the antennas concentrate radio waves in a single direction. All background information, descriptions of activities, how to make “ear” antennas and student data tables are provided. Included is an application of the inverse square law and the logarithmic scale of decibels.