The Reading / Listening - Europa Clipper - Level 6

The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting people to have their names engraved on a microchip bound for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will set off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is set to embark on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage in October 2024. The journey through the heavens will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-capsule project called "Message in a Bottle". The names will be etched next to a piece of poetry by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA said: "The poem connects the two water worlds – Earth, yearning to reach out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet to be explored."

More than 700,000 names have already been submitted to NASA. Engineers will use an electron beam to stencil them onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of text is smaller than 1/1000th the width of a human hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on the exterior of the spacecraft, the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 close flybys of [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, icy crust and ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a promising place to better understand the astro-biological potential for habitable worlds beyond Earth."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Europa Clipper - Level 4  or  Europa Clipper - Level 5

Sources
  • https://go.nasa.gov/MessageInABottle
  • https://www.nasa.gov/missions/europa-clipper/time-is-running-out-to-add-your-name-to-nasas-europa-clipper/
  • https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/now-you-can-send-your-name-to-jupiters-moon-on-nasas-europa-clipper-4580823


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. JOURNEYING THROUGH SPACE: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about journeying through space. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       space / space agency / names / microchip / moon / Jupiter / voyage / the heavens /
       NASA / beam / microchip / human hair / spacecraft / poem / data / atmosphere
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. ON EARTH: Students A strongly believe it's better to spend money on Earth rather than on space exploration; Students B strongly believe the oppoiste. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. POEMS: What would you write about in these "In Praise of…" poems? Why would you praise these things? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.


"In Praise of…

Content

Why?

English"

 

 

the Internet"

 

 

Teachers"

 

 

My friend"

 

 

Water"

 

 

Love"

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. MICROCHIP: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "microchip". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. LOCATION: Rank these with your partner. Rank the best places for your name to be. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • A marriage certificate
  • Hollywood movie poster
  • Winning lottery ticket
  • Nobel prize list
  • A PhD degree
  • VIP list
  • Airplane
  • Jupiter

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. engraved a. Begin a course of action.
      2. bound b. A long journey involving travel by sea or in space.
      3. set c. Cut or carved a text or design on the surface of a hard object.
      4. embark d. A feeling of intense longing for something.
      5. voyage e. On the way to, heading for.
      6. the heavens f. Ready or scheduled to do something or go somewhere.
      7. yearning g. Space.

    Paragraph 2

      8. submitted h. Suitable or good enough to live in.
      9. beam i. Gave or presented a proposal, application, or other document to a person or body.
      10. stencil j. A ray or shaft of light.
      11. flyby k. The outermost layer of rock of which a planet consists.
      12. crust l. A flight past a point, especially the close approach of a spacecraft to a planet or moon for observation.
      13. promising m. Produce a design using a template.
      14. habitable n. Showing signs of future success.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. NASA wants people to engrave their names on the side of a rocket.     T / F
  2. The NASA spacecraft is called the Jupiter Clipper.     T / F
  3. The journey to Europa is 2.6 billion kilometres long.     T / F
  4. A poem connecting Earth and Europa will also be on the space ship.     T / F
  5. NASA has already been sent more than a million names.     T / F
  6. Each line of text for the names is as thin as a human hair.     T / F
  7. The spaceship will fly past the moon Europa 50 times.     T / F
  8. NASA hopes to know more about habitable places in space.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. inviting
  2. engraving
  3. voyage
  4. connects
  5. yearning
  6. submitted
  7. tiny
  8. gather
  9. promising
  10. habitable
  1. likely-looking
  2. links
  3. longing
  4. miniscule
  5. etching
  6. fit to live in/on
  7. amass
  8. journey
  9. sent
  10. requesting

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. have their names engraved
  2. The journey through the heavens
  3. etched next to a piece
  4. yearning to
  5. secrets yet
  6. Engineers will use an electron
  7. 1/1000th the
  8. one of Jupiter's 95 officially
  9. icy
  10. understand the astro-
  1. biological potential
  2. beam
  3. to be explored
  4. crust
  5. on a microchip
  6. of poetry
  7. recognized moons
  8. reach out
  9. width of a human hair
  10. will take six years

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
poetry
set
habitable
heavens
yearning
engraved
capsule
embark

The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting people to have their names (1) _____________________ on a microchip bound for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will (2) _____________________ off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is set to (3) _____________________ on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage in October 2024. The journey through the (4) _____________________ will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-(5) _____________________ project called "Message in a Bottle". The names will be etched next to a piece of (6) _____________________ by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA said: "The poem connects the two water worlds - Earth, (7) _____________________ to reach out and understand what makes a world (8) _____________________, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet to be explored."

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
width
beyond
submitted
officially
promising
beam
flybys
crust

More than 700,000 names have already been (9) _____________________ to NASA. Engineers will use an electron (10) _____________________ to stencil them onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of text is smaller than 1/1000th the (11) _____________________ of a human hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on the exterior of the spacecraft, the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 close (12) _____________________ of [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 (13) _____________________ recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, icy (14) _____________________ and ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a (15) _____________________ place to better understand the astro-biological potential for habitable worlds (16) _____________________ Earth."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting people to have ______
     a.  their names ingrained
     b.  their names engraved
     c.  their name send graved
     d.  their names ingratiated
2)  The craft is set to embark on its 2.6-______
     a.  billion-kilometre voyage
     b.  billion-kilometre void
     c.  billion-kilometre beige
     d.  billion-kilometre vogue
3)  The names will be etched next to a ______
     a.  piece of pottery
     b.  piece of poetry
     c.  piece of symmetry
     d.  piece of paltry
4)  Earth, yearning to reach out and understand what makes ______
     a.  a world habit table
     b.  a world happy table
     c.  a world habit a ball
     d.  a world habitable
5)  and Europa, waiting with secrets yet ______
     a.  to be explores
     b.  to be explore
     c.  to be explorer
     d.  to be explored

6)  submitted to NASA. Engineers will use an electron beam ______
     a.  to pencil them
     b.  twos ten sill them
     c.  tooth seal them
     d.  to stencil them
7)  More than 700,000 names have already been ______
     a.  submit it to NASA
     b.  submission to NASA
     c.  submitting to NASA
     d.  submitted to NASA
8)  the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about ______
     a.  50 close flybys
     b.  50 close fly byes
     c.  50 close bye-byes
     d.  50 close by flies
9)  The Europa Clipper will gather data on the moon's ______
     a.  atmosphere, icy craft
     b.  atmosphere, icy cusp
     c.  atmosphere, icy crust
     d.  atmosphere, icy crass
10)  a promising place to better understand the astro-biological potential ______
     a.  four habitable worlds
     b.  for habitable worlds
     c.  form habitable worlds
     d.  fir habitable worlds

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting people to have their names (1) ____________________ microchip bound for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will set off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is (2) ____________________ on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage in October 2024. The journey (3) ____________________ will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-capsule project called "Message in a Bottle". The names will be etched next to a (4) ____________________ by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA said: "The poem connects the two water worlds - Earth, (5) ____________________ out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet (6) ____________________."

More than 700,000 names have already been submitted to NASA. Engineers will use an electron (7) ____________________ them onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of text is smaller than 1/1000th the (8) ____________________ human hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on (9) ____________________ the spacecraft, the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 (10) ____________________ [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather data on the moon's atmosphere, (11) ____________________ ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a promising place to better understand the astro-biological (12) ____________________ worlds beyond Earth."

Comprehension questions

  1. What can people have their names written on?
  2. How far is Europa from Earth?
  3. What is the name of NASA's project?
  4. Who is Ada Limon?
  5. What does Europa have that is waiting to be discovered?
  6. How many names does NASA currently have?
  7. What is the width in nanometres of a line of text for the names?
  8. How many moons does Jupiter have?
  9. What does NASA want data on besides Europa's atmosphere and ocean?
  10. What kind of potential does NASA want to better understand?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What can people have their names written on?
a) Jupiter
b) a microchip
c) a piece of space dust
d) a plaque in the NASA museum
2) How far is Europa from Earth?
a) 2.4 billion kilometres
b) 2.2 billion kilometres
c) 2.8 billion kilometres
d) 2.6 billion kilometres
3) What is the name of NASA's project?
a) Roxanne
b) Invisible Sun
c) Message in a Bottle
d) De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
4) Who is Ada Limon?
a) a poet
b) an astronaut
c) a rocket designer
d) an astrophysicist
5) What does Europa have that is waiting to be discovered?
a) gold
b) secrets
c) edible plants
d) drinkable water

6) How many names does NASA currently have?
a) more than 700,000
b) more than 800,000
c) more than 900,000
d) more than 1,000,000
7) What is the width in nanometres of a line of text for the names?
a) 60
b) 95
c) 75
d) 85
8) How many moons does Jupiter have?
a) 95
b) 94
c) 93
d) 92
9) What does NASA want data on besides Europa's atmosphere and ocean?
a) asteroids
b) the Milky Way
c) solar flares
d) its icy crust
10) What kind of potential does NASA want to better understand?
a) astrophysical potential
b) moneymaking potential
c) astro-biological potential
d) potential to travel in time

Role play

Role  A – A Hollywood Movie Poster
You think a Hollywood movie poster is the best place for your name to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least appealing of these places (and why): PhD degree, Jupiter or marriage certificate.

Role  B – A PhD Degree
You think a PhD degree is the best place for your name to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least appealing of these places (and why): Hollywood movie poster, Jupiter or marriage certificate.

Role  C – Jupiter
You think Jupiter is the best place for your name to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least appealing of these places (and why): PhD degree, Hollywood movie poster or marriage certificate.

Role  D – A Marriage Certificate
You think a marriage certificate is the best place for your name to be. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their places. Also, tell the others which is the least appealing of these places (and why): PhD degree, Jupiter or Hollywood movie poster.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'space'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'moon'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • inviting
    • embark
    • journey
    • piece
    • reach
    • secrets
    • already
    • beam
    • text
    • 50
    • 95
    • place

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Europa Clipper

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'space'?
    3. Would you like your name to visit Jupiter?
    4. What do you know about NASA?
    5. What do you know about the planet Jupiter?
    6. What do you think the project will find?
    7. What would it be like to live on another planet?
    8. What things do you find to be mysterious?
    9. How important is it to find habitable planets?
    10. Why do humans like exploring so much?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'moon'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. How would you feel if your name was near Jupiter?
    5. What message would you put in a bottle?
    6. What things would you put in a time capsule?
    7. What will life on Earth be like in 50 years from now?
    8. What would working for NASA be like?
    9. What would you write a poem in praise of?
    10. What questions would you like to ask NASA?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The U.S. space agency NASA is (1) ____ people to have their names engraved on a microchip bound for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will (2) ____ off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is set to embark on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage in October 2024. The journey through the (3) ____ will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-capsule project called "Message in a Bottle". The names will be (4) ____ next to a piece of poetry by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA said: "The poem connects the two (5) ____ worlds - Earth, yearning to reach out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets (6) ____ to be explored."

    More than 700,000 names have already been submitted (7) ____ NASA. Engineers will use an electron beam to stencil (8) ____ onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of text is smaller than 1/1000th the width of a (9) ____ hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on the exterior of the spacecraft, the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 close (10) ____ of [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather data (11) ____ the moon's atmosphere, icy crust and ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a promising place to better understand the astro-biological potential (12) ____ habitable worlds beyond Earth."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     imbibing     (b)     inviting     (c)     inciting     (d)     ingratiating    
    2. (a)     yet     (b)     set     (c)     met     (d)     let    
    3. (a)     havens     (b)     heartens     (c)     heathens     (d)     heavens    
    4. (a)     itched     (b)     etched     (c)     ached     (d)     arched    
    5. (a)     watery     (b)     water     (c)     waters     (d)     waterproof    
    6. (a)     set     (b)     let     (c)     yet     (d)     met    
    7. (a)     as     (b)     by     (c)     to     (d)     of    
    8. (a)     every     (b)     all     (c)     them     (d)     it    
    9. (a)     humanity     (b)     humanly     (c)     humane     (d)     human    
    10. (a)     flybys     (b)     laybys     (c)     standbys     (d)     abyss    
    11. (a)     on     (b)     at     (c)     to     (d)     as    
    12. (a)     at     (b)     to     (c)     for     (d)     as

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. have their names ndvrgaee on a microchip
    2. The craft is set to aebkrm
    3. on its 2.6-billion-kilometre gaoeyv
    4. part of a time-aplsuce project
    5. names will be ehecdt next to a piece of poetry
    6. understand what makes a world hbieatabl

    Paragraph 2

    1. use an trleneoc beam
    2. inestlc them onto a tiny silicon microchip
    3. the eitorexr of the spacecraft
    4. Jupiter's 95 afyiofilcl recognized moons
    5. the moon's prsmeoeaht
    6. understand the astro-biological noattlpie

    Put the text back together

    (...)   will be etched next to a piece of poetry by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA
    (...)   of a human hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on the exterior of the
    (...)   spacecraft, the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 close
    (...)   for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will set off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is set to
    (...)   electron beam to stencil them onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of text is smaller than 1/1000th the width
    (...)   heavens will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-capsule project called "Message in a Bottle". The names
    (...)   place to better understand the astro-biological potential for habitable worlds beyond Earth."
    (...)   flybys of [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather
    (  1  ) The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting people to have their names engraved on a microchip bound
    (...)   embark on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage in October 2024. The journey through the
    (...)   data on the moon's atmosphere, icy crust and ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a promising
    (...)   More than 700,000 names have already been submitted to NASA. Engineers will use an
    (...)   said: "The poem connects the two water worlds - Earth, yearning to reach
    (...)   out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet to be explored."

    Put the words in the right order

    1. will   Jupiter's   spacecraft   off   set   for   The   moon   .
    2. journey   years   .   The   heavens   the   through   will   take
    3. piece   Names   poetry   .   next   a   etched   of   to
    4. the   The   connects   poem   two   worlds   .   water
    5. be   with   yet   waiting   Europa's   to   explored   .   secrets
    6. submitted   .   have   names   already   700,000   than   More   been
    7. silicon   a   tiny   them   onto   microchip   .   Stencil
    8. make   about   of   flybys   close   50   Europa   .   They
    9. officially   Jupiter's   moons   .   recognized   Europa   one   of   is
    10. habitable  worlds . understand  Better  potential  astrobiological  the  for

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The U.S. space agency NASA is inviting / invites people to have their names engraved on a microchip round / bound for a moon of Jupiter. The spacecraft Europa Clipper will let / set off for Jupiter's moon Europa. The craft is set to embark / disembark on its 2.6-billion-kilometre voyage / voyager in October 2024. The journey through the heavens / hells will take six years. Sending the names is part of a time-capsule project called "Message in a Bottle". The names will be itched / etched next to a piece of poetry by U.S. poet Ada Limon called, "On / In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa". NASA said: "The poem / poetic connects the two water worlds - Earth, yearning to reach out and understand what makes a world habitable, and Europa, waiting with secrets yet / are to be explored."

    More than 700,000 names have / are already been submitted to NASA. Engineers will use an electron beam to stencil it / them onto a tiny silicon microchip. NASA said: "Each line of / on text is smaller than 1/1000th the width of a humane / human hair (75 nanometres)." It added: "Riding on / to the exterior of the spacecraft, the poem and names will be similar / like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 closed / close flybys of [Europa's] ocean world." Europa is one of Jupiter's 95 officially recognized moons. The Europa Clipper will gather data on / to the moon's atmosphere, icy crust and ocean. NASA said: "Europa is such a / the promising place to better understand the astro-biological potential for habitable worlds behind / beyond Earth."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_  _.S.  sp_c_  _g_ncy  N_S_  _s  _nv_t_ng  p__pl_  t_  h_v_  th__r  n_m_s  _ngr_v_d  _n  _  m_cr_ch_p  b__nd  f_r  _  m__n  _f  J_p_t_r.  Th_  sp_c_cr_ft  __r_p_  Cl_pp_r  w_ll  s_t  _ff  f_r  J_p_t_r's  m__n  __r_p_.  Th_  cr_ft  _s  s_t  t_  _mb_rk  _n  _ts  2.6-b_ll__n-k_l_m_tr_  v_y_g_  _n  _ct_b_r  2024.  Th_  j__rn_y  thr__gh  th_  h__v_ns  w_ll  t_k_  s_x  y__rs.  S_nd_ng  th_  n_m_s  _s  p_rt  _f  _  t_m_-c_ps_l_  pr_j_ct  c_ll_d  "M_ss_g_  _n  _  B_ttl_".  Th_  n_m_s  w_ll  b_  _tch_d  n_xt  t_  _  p__c_  _f  p__try  by  _.S.  p__t  _d_  L_m_n  c_ll_d,  "_n  Pr__s_  _f  Myst_ry:  _  P__m  f_r  __r_p_".  N_S_  s__d:  "Th_  p__m  c_nn_cts  th_  tw_  w_t_r  w_rlds  -  __rth,  y__rn_ng  t_  r__ch  __t  _nd  _nd_rst_nd  wh_t  m_k_s  _  w_rld  h_b_t_bl_,  _nd  __r_p_,  w__t_ng  w_th  s_cr_ts  y_t  t_  b_  _xpl_r_d."

    M_r_  th_n  700,000  n_m_s  h_v_  _lr__dy  b__n  s_bm_tt_d  t_  N_S_.  _ng_n__rs  w_ll  _s_  _n  _l_ctr_n  b__m  t_  st_nc_l  th_m  _nt_  _  t_ny  s_l_c_n  m_cr_ch_p.  N_S_  s__d:  "__ch  l_n_  _f  t_xt  _s  sm_ll_r  th_n  1/1000th  th_  w_dth  _f  _  h_m_n  h__r  (75  n_n_m_tr_s)."  _t  _dd_d:  "R_d_ng  _n  th_  _xt_r__r  _f  th_  sp_c_cr_ft,  th_  p__m  _nd  n_m_s  w_ll  b_  l_k_  _  m_ss_g_  _n  _  b_ttl_  _s  th_y  m_k_  _b__t  50  cl_s_  flybys  _f  [__r_p_'s]  _c__n  w_rld."  __r_p_  _s  _n_  _f  J_p_t_r's  95  _ff_c__lly  r_c_gn_z_d  m__ns.  Th_  __r_p_  Cl_pp_r  w_ll  g_th_r  d_t_  _n  th_  m__n's  _tm_sph_r_,  _cy  cr_st  _nd  _c__n.  N_S_  s__d:  "__r_p_  _s  s_ch  _  pr_m_s_ng  pl_c_  t_  b_tt_r  _nd_rst_nd  th_  _str_-b__l_g_c_l  p_t_nt__l  f_r  h_b_t_bl_  w_rlds  b_y_nd  __rth."

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the us space agency nasa is inviting people to have their names engraved on a microchip bound for a moon of jupiter the spacecraft europa clipper will set off for jupiters moon europa the craft is set to embark on its 26billionkilometre voyage in october 2024 the journey through the heavens will take six years sending the names is part of a timecapsule project called message in a bottle the names will be etched next to a piece of poetry by us poet ada limon called in praise of mystery a poem for europa nasa said the poem connects the two water worlds  earth yearning to reach out and understand what makes a world habitable and europa waiting with secrets yet to be explored

    more than 700000 names have already been submitted to nasa engineers will use an electron beam to stencil them onto a tiny silicon microchip nasa said each line of text is smaller than 11000th the width of a human hair 75 nanometres it added riding on the exterior of the spacecraft the poem and names will be like a message in a bottle as they make about 50 close flybys of europas ocean world europa is one of jupiters 95 officially recognized moons the europa clipper will gather data on the moons atmosphere icy crust and ocean nasa said europa is such a promising place to better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond earth

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheU.S.spaceagencyNASAisinvitingpeopletohavetheirnamesengra
    vedonamicrochipboundforamoonofJupiter.ThespacecraftEuropaCli
    pperwillsetoffforJupiter'smoonEuropa.Thecraftissettoembarkonits2
    .6-billion-kilometrevoyageinOctober2024.Thejourneythroughtheh
    eavenswilltakesixyears.Sendingthenamesispartofatime-capsulep
    rojectcalled"MessageinaBottle".Thenameswillbeetchednexttoapiec
    eofpoetrybyU.S.poetAdaLimoncalled,"InPraiseofMystery:APoemfor
    Europa".NASAsaid:"Thepoemconnectsthetwowaterworlds-Earth,ye
    arningtoreachoutandunderstandwhatmakesaworldhabitable,andEu
    ropa,waitingwithsecretsyettobeexplored."Morethan700,000names
    havealreadybeensubmittedtoNASA.Engineerswilluseanelectronbea
    mtostencilthemontoatinysiliconmicrochip.NASAsaid:"Eachlineoftex
    tissmallerthan1/1000ththewidthofahumanhair(75nanometres)."It
    added:"Ridingontheexteriorofthespacecraft,thepoemandnameswill
    belikeamessageinabottleastheymakeabout50closeflybysof[Europa'
    s]oceanworld."EuropaisoneofJupiter's95officiallyrecognizedmoons.
    TheEuropaClipperwillgatherdataonthemoon'satmosphere,icycrusta
    ndocean.NASAsaid:"Europaissuchapromisingplacetobetterunderst
    andtheastro-biologicalpotentialforhabitableworldsbeyondEarth."

    Free writing

    Write about send your name to Jupiter for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Academic writing

    It is highly important to explore space. Discuss.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    _____________________________________________________________________________

     

    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. JOURNEYING THROUGH SPACE: Make a poster about journeying through space. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. LIFE ON EARTH: Write a magazine article about spending money on saving life on Earth instead of space exploration. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on journeying through space. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on what we need to do in space. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Back to the top

    Help Support This Web Site

    • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

    Sean Banville's Book

    Thank You