Scriptwriting Idea for Solar Arrays Production


In the DIY Podcast Solar Arrays topic module, Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur details some of the uses of electricity on the International Space Station. Electricity is a lifeline for astronauts on the space station. They can’t even breathe without it. While electricity is very important on Earth, it’s not generally considered a necessity for survival.

It might be fun for your students to compare or contrast uses of electricity on Earth to those in space. When you create your student podcast, insert a NASA video clip of McArthur listing one of the ways electricity is used in space and follow it with a student listing a similar or different way they use electricity on Earth. Repeat this several times to create a montage of students and functions of electricity in their everyday lives. Video clips 9-v through 14-v or audio clips 8-a through 12-a are well-suited for this approach to your script. You can download the files from the Audio Clips and Video Clips pages of the Solar Arrays module.

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DIY Podcast: Solar Arrays

Resources That Shed Light on Solar Arrays and Electricity


The main page of the Solar Arrays module lists resources for students to use if they want to gather more information for their podcast script. Here are a few more NASA educational resources that you may find helpful in teaching about solar arrays and electricity.


NASA’s Student Observation Network includes the Living and Working in Space: Energy module, which promotes inquiry as students answer questions such as “What variables might affect the operation of solar panels?”

Classroom of the Future offers ISS: Electricity and Power in Space, an electricity module with simulations.

The NASA SCI Files’ The Case of the Electrical Mystery educator guide contains activities that will get students “charged up” about electricity.

NASA’s Environmental Control and Life Support Systems Water Filtration Challenge Educator Guide is an engineering design challenge in which students build and test water filtration systems.

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DIY Podcast: Solar Arrays

Solar Arrays Module Offers Versatility for Student Podcasts

DIY Podcast topic modules tend to offer enough variety that no two student projects will be the same. And that certainly seems to be the case with the new Solar Arrays module. The educational information and multimedia content let you choose from multiple topics as the focus of your podcast. Students can build podcasts about solar energy, electricity, spacecraft solar arrays or the International Space Station’s life support system — just to name a few.

Astronaut Bill McArthur explains how the space station gathers power through its solar arrays to run space station systems, life support and experiments. Electricity is vital to life on the station. McArthur discusses how the solar panels capture sunlight and convert it into electricity. And he lists examples of why electricity is a necessity on the station.

The Solar Arrays module includes images of the Environmental Control and Life Support System because it provides most of the functions McArthur mentions in the audio and video clips. The module also gives you easy access to images of electrical wiring on the station and the many computers, experiments and pieces of equipment that require electricity on the station.

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DIY Podcast: Solar Arrays

New DIY Podcast Topic Module: Solar Arrays


Most of us can’t imagine living without electricity. On the International Space Station, life simply could not exist without it. In our newest DIY Podcast module, astronaut Bill McArthur discusses how electricity is generated and used on the space station. The new Solar Arrays module posted this week gives you easy access to a collection of downloadable NASA audio, video and images that students can use to build their own podcasts. The Solar Arrays module includes 23 video clips and 18 audio clips that students can mix with original content as they explore topics such as solar energy, electricity, spacecraft solar arrays and space station life support. In addition to clips featuring McArthur, this module includes B-roll with spectacular views of Earth and the space station captured during the STS-119 flyaround. The main page of the Solar Arrays module provides helpful information along with links to additional resources for students who want to conduct more research before writing their podcast script.

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DIY Podcast: Solar Arrays

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