Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the Team Leader resources kept? I can’t see them on the app when I login as a Team Leader.

The App is the place where your Cadets upload all their work, not the place where you as a Team Leader do your work. You can register your Team through the App and can have a look around to see if you would like to take part. After that everything you need to run the Astro Science Challenge is on this website, either in the Team Leader Resources section (all the Activity Plans, Powerpoint Presentations and any Additional Documents for the Missions) or in the Team Leader Admin section (where you can track Cadet progress and award Badges)

How long should I be spending on each Mission?

There are six MISSIONS.

Each MISSION has three ACTIVITIES.

Each Activity is designed to be delivered in one lesson of whatever length of time you choose (generally one Science, one Maths, one English), with the potential to expand this into more lessons if you want.

We think that you’ll get the most value from the resources by running this as a cross-curricular, project-based piece of learning that is the focus of your teaching across at least 6 weeks.

Do I need to complete all six Missions?

You can do as many or as few Missions as you choose. But we think (hope!) your students will get the most from the project if they complete all six.

Every time the children successfully complete a challenge they are rewarded with a digital BADGE endorsed by one of our partners.

Everyone starts with the rank of CADET and if they get all six badges will “level up” (or graduate) to the rank of AGENT and receive a certificate with Tim’s signature 🙂

Can I take part without being part of a school?

Yes! You can take part as an individual or a team. Your team might be a class in a school, an after school club, or a home education group. You could even just do this at weekends or after school FOR FUN!

If you take part as a team, you as Team Leader should deliver the tasks with guidance from the downloadable Activity Plans. You’ll also be in charge of awarding Badges.

If you take part as an individual you’ll just need to find an adult to be your Team Leader, you and they can both access the downloadable resources through the website but they’ll need to award your badges once the work for each Mission is complete.

I missed The Astro Science Challenge: LIVE! Can I still join the adventure?

Yes!

The Astro Science Challenge: LIVE! was a live run through of the adventure between April – June 2020. The live adventure may have finished, but the app is still available to download, the Mission resources can be found on our Team Leader Resources page, all the broadcasts (including our interviews with astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Suni Williams) are still live on our YouTube channel and you can read all of the emails with news and top tips that we sent to our Team Leaders during the adventure here. 

Some of the work is beyond the capability of my Cadets, what shall I do?

It’s important to remember that as a Team Leader you are in control of the project for your Cadets. We are not judging any of the work against any criteria, because we know Cadets have different abilities. We leave awarding the Badges to you because you know your Cadets best, and we trust that you’ll award them when they’ve reached their full potential, whatever that might be. In the Activity Plans we have suggested a “scaling” of response for children of different ages or ability. And if you want to simplify some of the activities (or develop them further) to make sure your Cadets understand it, that’s OK!

Do Cadets have to upload individual work?

We’d like to encourage Cadets to create their own responses to the Tasks, and in a format that suits them. Cadets should have individual accounts on the app, so the work they submit will be personal to their accounts. However, we understand that in some cases you might want to work as a class and upload the same evidence of group work. As you’re the Team Leader, this decision is up to you. We ask that Cadets should have worked to their full potential and shown evidence of their superpowers (their individual skills).

What evidence do we need to upload?

Unless the form of the Evidence is specified in the Activity Plan (eg. A video or a piece of writing), it is up to the Team Leader or the Cadets what form their Evidence takes. This is to make sure Cadets are given an opportunity to present their work in whatever style that suits their strengths or superpowers. Examples could be drawings, photographs, videos, pieces of writing, excel documents, charts, tables etc.

How much work can I upload to the app?

Cadets can upload a maximum of 5 videos, 10 images and 4000 characters of text for each Task. The size limit for an image is 50mb and for videos, it’s 200mb. The upload function will not accept PDF documents.

Can I upload videos directly from my camera?

No, this isn’t technically possible. If you want to upload a video, film and save it on your device and then choose your video from inside the app.

How will I get my digital Badge?

Team Leaders are in charge of awarding digital Badges. After Cadets upload Evidence of their Activity onto the App. Team Leaders can check their progress through the Team Leader Admin page of the website, and award a Badge once they’re happy with it.

Can I watch all the Space Shed videos in one place?

Yes, you can find them in the appropriate Mission in the Team Leader Admin section. We haven’t made these videos publicly available as each new Mission is unlocked on the App when the previous Mission is complete so the story will be spoilt for the Cadets if they are able to look ahead.

Do the Space Shed videos have subtitles?

Yes. If you are watching the videos on a tablet or phone you may need to view them at full screen in order to access the subtitles.

How much time will I spend on the computer?

As a Team Leader you will need to download the Activity Plans, PowerPoint presentations and any additional documents ahead of each Mission. Cadets will need to use a computer to upload Evidence of their work on to the app on completion of each Activity.

Apart from this, there is only one activity that needs access to computers for the Cadets – Mission 4: Astro Coding.

Can I do the Astro Science Challenge non-digitally?

Yes. The Resources are free to download and you can just do all the tasks on paper if you wish. There are printable badges you can use in the Resources section. If you have any further questions not answered here then please email astrohelp@unspaceagency.earth and we hope you enjoy the Astro Science Challenge!

I’ve requested a password reset email, but it’s not arrived

On a few occasions we’ve had Team Leaders come to us with this question, and in all cases so far it’s because they’ve not yet created an account. Please remember, signing up to one of our mailing lists does not automatically create your account. If you’d like to create a Team Leader account for The Astro Science Challenge, please download the app on the App Store/Google Play or use our desktop version.

If you’re certain you’ve created an account via the app and your password reset email has not arrived, please contact us by email at hello[at]unspaceagency.earth and we’ll get to the bottom of it.

What username should I give my Cadet?

Cadet usernames can be anything* you like! By having a username, you’re not obliged to enter their real name should you not want to and so your Cadet can remain anonymous. We recommend letting the Cadet choose a fun space science themed username!

If you’re a teacher signing up your class as Cadets, you may want to choose names that will help you remember who is who. If you’re letting your Cadets decide, we’d recommend making a note, because SpaceBunny11 really could be anyone!

Remember: You can change the name and password of any Cadet by logging into Team Leader Admin and heading over to the ‘Cadets’ tab.

*nearly anything… please do not use email addresses!