Getting Ready
Working together, your teams have to determine if the comet will hit the moon, when this might happen, where, and how much energy the collision will have. All of this information will help Mission Control to determine its plans.  During the mission your teams will receive nine data readings about every five minutes. Each reading represents a simulated time of 30 minutes, beginning at 3:00 a.m. Mission Control will need your classroom to be organized in four teams of students:

Moon Mapping Team: This team can have between 4 and 7 students. They will use math to calculate the probabilities of danger of each lunar base.

Comet Tracking Team: There can be between 4 and 7 students in this team. The students will use math to calculate among other things, the time of impact of the comet and how far will the ejecta reach.

Crisis Management Team: This team can have between 4 and 7 students working together. The team members will need to make agile decisions based on information they receive. One extra minute to make a decision could be the difference between the astronauts surviving or not the impact.

Communications Team: Choose two people to work as the communications team. The "comm officer" will use the microphone and the video link to communicate with Mission Control. The "data officer" will type all team messages and calculations into a chat and data window. This person should be able to type without looking at the keys.

Note: You may choose the people for the communications team the day before the mission, or even on the day of the mission. As long as they read their team's instructions, there is no practice necessary.

Good Luck
The students will need teamwork, planning, and problem-solving skills to succeed. On mission day the math skills will be put to the test. Practice the math procedures needed for the mission.