An interactive DBQ by Mollie Pettit explores the question: What is the relationship between imagination and innovation within the context of space travel? A chapter excerpt from Exploring History Vol IV. http://bit.ly/2iyHMaX

1. IMAGINATION,
INNOVATION &
SPACE EXPLORATION
1
MOLLY PETTIT

2. Imagination and innovation
are two key forces that drive
history. The stories are
everywhere - the phones in
our pockets, the computers
on our desks, the cars we
drive, the medicine we take
when we're sick, even the
indoor plumbing we use in
our homes.
This chapter will examine
how imagination and
innovation have influenced
space travel throughout
history. Using historical
thinking skills such as
contextualization and close
reading to examine text and
media sources to unravel the
relationship between
imagination and innovation,
students will analyze how
both influenced one of the
biggest dreams of the 20th
century, and fueled ambitions
for the future.

3. ESSENTIAL
QUESTION:
WHAT IS THE
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN
IMAGINATION
AND INNOVATION
WITHIN THE
CONTEXT OF
SPACE TRAVEL?
"The moon, by her comparative proximity, and the
constantly varying appearances produced by her
several phases, has always occupied a considerable
share of the attention of the inhabitants of the earth."
- Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon, 1865
Type to enter text
Above is the essential question students will engage with throughout this
chapter. The various documents (text, video, and photo) used throughout
this lesson will guide student understanding of the long journey humans
have taken in their desire to explore space.
Students can start with this quick-write activity:
Reflect on the quote above from Jules Verne. What is Verne claiming in
this statement? What do you think space travel was like in 1865, when
this was written? How does this quote relate to our essential question?
FUTURE ASTRONAUTS:
THIS ICON WILL INDICATE WHENEVER
GUIDING QUESTIONS OR ACTIVITIES
ARE INCLUDED FOR STUDENTS.

4. Jules Verne is known as one of the earliest science-fiction writers; some of
his work may be familiar to you: Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the
Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in Eighty
Days. In 1865, Verne published another work, From the Earth to the
Moon - the story centers on the enthusiastic and American, Baltimore Gun
Club. The Gun Club ambitiously takes up a proposed project of building a
projectile that will take passengers to the moon. Many decisions need to
be made - what material should be used to make the projectile, what
method should be used to propel the projectile all the way to the moon,
and what launch-site to use.
JULES VERNE:
FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON
1865
Activity: Ask students to
imagine themselves
as members of the
Baltimore Gun Club and
create a list of questions that
need to be considered for a
successful launch. Have students compare
their questions with those President
Barbicane asks the University of Cambridge
in chapter four (in the box to the left).
Follow-up discussion questions: How did you
decide what questions were important to ask? Verne
asked these questions in 1865, which questions do
you think were also asked during America’s journey to
the moon? What questions needed to be asked during
America’s journey to the moon that Verne could not
have predicted?
"The questions which have
been proposed to it are
these —
1. Is it possible to transmit
a projectile up to the
moon?
2. What is the exact
distance which separates
the earth from its satellite?
3. What will be the period
of transit of the projectile
when endowed with
sufficient initial velocity?
Click here!

5. GEORGES MÉLIÈS:
LE VOYAGE DANS LA LUNE
1902
In 1902 using the new and captivating storytelling
medium of film, Georges Méliès
wanted audiences to view a story of
space travel. Watch the full movie
by clicking on the image below.
After watching the film, have
students create a t-chart to
record their observations
about imagination and
innovation as they are shown
in the film.
Questions to guide student discussion or reflection:
1. When was this film made? What was different
then? What was the same?
2. How might the circumstances in which the film
was created affect its content?
3. How is seeing a story being told different from
reading a story? What opportunities and
limitations does the medium of film offer to
show elements of imagination and innovation?
Imagination Innovation
Students might observe the
environment of the moon, the
subterranean world of the
moon, the beings discovered
on the moon...
Students might observe the
shape of the projectile, the
launch procedure, how the
projectile returns to earth...
INTERACTIVE 1.1 A Trip to the Moon / Le Voyage dans la lune - 1902
Click the image above to watch the short film by French director Georges Méliès in
the early years of film.

6. Where
are we going
next? As time went on and many
aspects of society changed, we see that space
travel moves out of the realm of imagination, and more into
the reality of innovation. The relationship between imagination and
innovation shifts - piece by piece, progress was made toward the human
exploration of space. A circular pattern emerges as imagination inspires innovation, and in
turn, innovation fuels imagination as what once seemed impossible is accomplished. As you continue
through this chapter, consider what factors influenced the relationship between imagination and innovation.
What have we learned so far about the relationship between imagination and innovation?
After reading excerpts from Jules Verne and viewing the short film by Georges Méliès,
describe how elements of imagination and innovation were used in both
sources to tell stories. Predict how this relationship might change
as we focus our study to the mid 1900s, the
Space Race, and beyond.
IMAGINATION
& INNOVATION

7. RACE TO THE
STRATOSPHERE
1930S
By the early 1930s, pilots around the world had been testing the limits of human and
airplane endurance at high altitudes for years: Apollo Soucek to 43,166 feet on 4 June
1930; Cyril Uwins to 43,976 feet on 16 September 1932; Renato Donati to 47,572 feet on
12 April 1934. Aviation experts understood that the challenge was to master these
ceilings, where the lack of oxygen meant the need for several
innovations: pressurized airplane cabins for life support or
variable pitch propellers and newly designed airplane engines (tur-
bocompressors and superchargers) to fly in the lighter air.
At first the competition took peaceful forms, not so much with
airplanes as with high-altitude “stratostat” (stratospheric balloon)
records. This was a race for the stratosphere actually launched by
an unlikely character, Auguste Piccard. He was a Swiss national,
professor of physics at the University of Brussels, and a research
specialist on gamma rays. On 27 May 1931, over the course of
seventeen hours, Piccard and his assistant, Charles Kipfer,
achieved a turning point in world history. Their stratospheric
balloon, the FNRS (initials for the Belgian National Foundation for
Scientific Research), made a relatively short trip from Augsburg,
Germany, to the Gurgl glacier at the Austrian Tyrol. But they were
also the first to reach previously unknown heights: 51,775 feet.
The scientific objectives of the mission were mundane enough: the observation and
measurement of cosmic rays (about their nature and intensity and movements), along with
chemical analyses of the air and recordings of temperatures. But the flight was also filled
with all the drama and danger of a science fiction story. The launch unfolded in scenes
that looked as if they were cut from the movie The Woman in the Moon: the gondola ever
so carefully transported by a small railroad track from its hangar to the launch site; huge
floodlights illuminating the site deep into the night; hundreds of workers and spectators
crowding the field; the pilots returning home as heroes to great public acclaim, their
admirers clamoring to sign their initials to the capsule.
The spherical gondola was Piccard’s unique invention, prefiguring the stratospheric
gondolas to come and even the Sputnik spacecraft many years hence. It was the first of
many kinds. Weighing 850 pounds fully outfitted, it was a seven-foot-diameter airtight ball
of welded aluminum and tin (of normal atmospheric pressure and oxygen), partially
based on the technology to make sealed vats for the storage of beer. Piccard provisioned
it with pure-oxygen dispensers and a recirculating system to cleanse the carbon dioxide. It
Auguste Piccard with his
family and stratospheric
balloon, 1930.
With the invention and success of flight by
airplane, hot air balloon, and zeppelin, by the
1930s people around the world started
experimenting with technologies that could take
them into the stratosphere. Rising higher and
faster than previous records, stratospheric
balloons brought space exploration one step
closer to reality.
Read the condensed excerpt on the right
from Rockets and Revolution: A Cultural History of
Early Spaceflight by Michael G. Smith. To find the
original article or to read more,
click here.
Ask students to use close-
reading skills as they read this
text. With your students, create
a set of simple symbols they
can use to indicate when they
have found evidence of imagination and
innovation while reading.
Questions to guide student interpretation:
1. How did competition between countries
contribute to the developments of space travel
during this time?
2. What other factors seemed to contribute?

8. JOHN F. KENNEDY:
“WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON”
1962
INTERACTIVE 1.2 President John F. Kennedy’s Speech
“We choose to go to the moon.”
In watching this video, students can start
to examine the Space Race.
CONTEXTUALIZING: Before watching
the video, introduce students to the
political, social, and economic context
of the 1960s - what major challenges
was our nation facing? Who was involved in
the Space Race and what were their motives?
EXAMINING: After showing the video, ask students what
emotions they think Americans might have felt hearing
Kennedy’s speech - excited to put a man on the moon,
nervous about the cost of a space program, eager to
compete against another major world power? Encourage
students to examine the social, political, and economic
factors that may have impacted this decision.
PREDICTING: Students should use their prior knowledge
of the Apollo 11 moon landing or the Apollo Program to
brainstorm what happened in the years following this
speech. How did imagination and innovation unfold in
those years to create one of the 20th century’s most
memorable moments?
In this famous speech made at Rice University in
September of 1962, President John F. Kennedy
delivered a call to the American people to
support ambitions for the NASA Apollo
Program - to get a man to the moon.
Does this speech draw on imagination or
innovation to make its argument?

9. The Apollo 1 Crew: Edward H. White II, Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, and Roger B. Chaffee.
GALLERY 1.1 The Apollo Program through the Years

10. In the years following the 1969 lunar landing many advancements in space exploration and
observation technology were made. Many missions were taken to the moon, the International
Space Station launched in 1998, rovers have landed on the surface of Mars, and satellites have
been sent out deeper and deeper into space...
Cumulative Projects & Final Reflections - The following ideas are designed to help students extend
and/or summarize their learning through this chapter. Some activities will require more time and
resources than others, so choose what assignment would best serve your students.
Research & Critical Analysis
Guide students in researching an additional innovation in the field of
space exploration that has taken place recently. Students should
research the innovative technology answering questions such as:
•What prompted the need for this innovation? How was it influenced
by imagination?
•What steps were taken to develop the innovation? What were the
major milestones or setbacks?
•What is the lasting impact of the innovation?
Students could present their findings to the class through making and
displaying posters or digital presentations. Conduct a “gallery walk”
so students can learn from their peers’ research.
Legacy of Imagination and Innovation
Present the class with a famous photo (click rocket
for example). Ask students to write their responses
to the following questions:
•What is the legacy of a photo like this?
•How do you think people felt being able to see images like
this for the first time?
•How do you think Verne or Méliès would have felt being able
to see actual images from space, or watching the lunar
landing?
•What images do you expect to see in the future of space
exploration? Where are imagination and innovation taking us
next?
CONCLUDE THIS LESSON WITH A FINAL REFLECTION ON
OUR ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND INNOVATION WITHIN THE
CONTEXT OF SPACE TRAVEL?

11. REFERENCES
Icons thanks to the
Noun Project and
their designers
Photos of stratospheric balloon
exploration:
Piccard & Family: click here.
Century of Progress
Balloon: click here.
Information and photo of
Georges Méliès: click here.
All other photos
courtesy of
NASA:
click here for awesome
photos!
Full text of Jules Verne’s From
the Earth to the Moon is
available on Project
Gutenberg: click here.
Book artwork:
click here.
From The British Library:
click here.

12. Exploring History Vol IV
University of Portland Students
Peter Pappas, Editor

13. I have had so much fun creating this textbook chapter! It is always exciting for learners -
whether they are teachers or students - when you can learn about something you
are passionate about. For me, one such topic is the history of space travel.
I used the Document Based Learning approach to build the flow of this lesson, and I was pleased with the
outcome. The DBL style lends itself to using images and film, in addition to text, as primary source
documents. I like using multiple sources of media to engage students in learning and opening up
their interest to a new subject.
The most difficult part of this project was formulating the essential question. I wanted to
create a question that could guide this lesson while sharing with students what I find so
magical about space exploration - how far our collective imaginative and
innovative power has taken us. I am so inspired thinking about the fact that
people have walked on the moon, that since 1998 astronauts from various
countries have lived together on the International Space Station.
I hope any readers out there have enjoyed looking through time
and space with this lesson!
Molly Pettit
THANK
YOU FOR
READING!
REFLECTION

14. This eBook is a collaborative project of Peter Pappas
and his Fall 2016 Social Studies Methods Class
School of Education ~ University of Portland, Portland Ore.
Graduate and undergraduate level pre-service teachers were assigned the
task of developing an engaging research question, researching supportive
documents and curating them into a DBQ suitable for middle or high
school students.
For more on this class, visit the course blog EdMethods
For more on this book project and work flow tap here.
Chapters in chronological order
1. Mysterious Bronze Age Collapse by Sam Hicks
2. From Revolution to Government by Valerie Schiller
3. Imagination, Innovation & Space Exploration by Molly Pettit
4. The Real Romanovs by Kelly Marx
5. World War I: The Human Cost of Total War by Anna
Harrington
6. Collectivization and Propaganda in Stalin’s Soviet Union by
Clarice Terry
7. Holy Propaganda Batman! by Karina Ramirez Velazquez
8. The Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade by Scott Hearron
EXPLORING HISTORY: VOL IV
i
Engaging questions and historic
documents empower students to be
the historian in the classroom.

15. Peter Pappas, editor
School of Education ~ University of Portland
His popular blog, Copy/Paste features downloads of his instructional
resources, projects and publications. Follow him at Twitter @edteck.
His other multi-touch eBooks are available at here.
© Peter Pappas and his students, 2016
The authors take copyright infringement seriously. If any copyright holder has
been inadvertently or unintentionally overlooked, the publisher will be pleased to
remove the said material from this book at the very first opportunity.
ii
Cover design by Anna Harrington
Cover image: Timeless Books
By Lin Kristensen from New Jersey, USA
[CC BY 2.]
via Wikimedia Commons