By this point, you have read the novel The Martian by Andy Weir. Hopefully, you enjoyed it. And, now that you’ve read it, you can really start thinking about what to do with it. This novel, as in any other science fiction novel, explores issues that relate to space exploration as well as old-fashioned human relationships.
Your task for this research paper is as follows: Please take some aspect of space exploration, whether you got the idea from Packing for Mars or The Martian, or you got it from somewhere else and research that subject. Then present your research as either analytical/explanatory or argumentative-persuasive in tone and structure, depending upon the subject you researched. This is very, very open-ended. That is, whatever you’re interested (as long as it has to do with space exploration) is fair game!
Here is a teeny, tiny list of possibilities to consider:
- How to become an astronaut
- Space camp
- Space law
- Why some people believe the moon landings were a hoax
- The latest governmental confessions about UFOs
- Rockets and how they’re constructed
- International competition for space
- Deep-space, interstellar probes
- Radio astronomy
- Off-earth telescopes
- The nature of space-time
- Can we go faster than the speed of light?
- Wormholes
- String theory
- Black holes
- How NASA promotes space exploration
- Jet Propulsion Lab
- Evolution of the aerospace industry
- Private space exploration companies
- Your own topic!
Your research paper must contain a variety of outside sources. Try to use different types of materials (such as the Internet, CDs, books, periodicals, interviews, and so on) and, of course, those sources must be properly cited using MLA formatting. Some specific requirements include.
For this particular assignment, please create an outline. It may be analytical in structure, argumentative in structure, or it may follow the “publishable” structure — whichever structure appeals to you most and you feel is most appropriate for your research. Thanks.
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