I love space. I love to learn about space and to teach about space. And kids love space. When I taught earth science I spent waaaay longer than I needed to on the space unit. Our current seventh grade curriculum doesn't include space. So, I found a way to include it. In the spring I teach the physics unit. This includes magnets, electricity, sound and electromagnetic energy. On it's own, without a "hook", this can be fun unit. It's very hands on. But I wanted to kick it up a notch and I am always looking for ways to integrate space science into the curriculum. This seemed like the perfect unit for space integration. Thus, my NASA unit was born. For the past 2 years I have taught this unit through the lens of space exploration - specifically the Journey to Mars. I begin the unit with the history of space exploration and the introduction of the unit project. By the end of the unit, students will design a ship that gets astronauts safely to Mars and they will