Overview
Space, the final frontier. Are voyages to explore strange new worlds—to seek new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before—best left to government to fund with our tax dollars or should these efforts be conducted by the private sector at their own expense? This segment looks at government and private space exploration.

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Grade level and subjects
• Recommended for grades 6-12
• Subjects: Government and Science / Technology
• Works in Classroom, Hybrid, and Homeschool settings

What students will learn
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
• discuss differences between government and private space exploration;
• explain the benefits of private space exploration; and
• evaluate the importance of competition in space exploration, especially regarding efficiency and effectiveness of outcomes.

Key concepts and terms covered
Bipartisan, Bureaucracy, and Infrastructure.

Sample discussion questions
• What is NASA?
• Why might some congressional representatives not support private space exploration? Why might some representatives support it?
• Would it be wrong if their goals include making money? Explain.
• What do the satellites in orbit around the earth do? Are those for private, commercial interests or for government? Who should pay for them?
• What are the limits to space exploration? Do we really know? Explain.

What’s in the free teacher’s guide
This printable 10-page Teacher's Guide includes a lesson description, learning objectives, key vocabulary, a fill-in viewing guide with answer key, discussion and analysis questions, and classroom activities.

Standards alignment
Aligned to state standards — use the SITC Standards Tool to match this video to the standards in your state.