Space science standards
One page for every performance expectation with space content, from Grade 1 to high school: what students must show, a lesson sequence on live data, common misconceptions, and assessment questions with answers.
Last updated . Curriculum links last reviewed November 2026.
All 15 standards
Grades 1 to 12| Code | What students show | Live tools and worksheet | State codes for the same idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | |||
| 1-ESS1-1 | Patterns of the Sun, Moon and stars | Moon globe, Moonrise Tonight, What's that light in the sky? Moon diary | Texas: K.9A, K.9B; Florida: SC.K.E.5.2, SC.K.E.5.4, SC.1.E.5.1; Georgia: SKE1, S2E2.d |
| 1-ESS1-2 | More daylight in summer, less in winter | Live ISS tracker, ISS Visible Tonight Printable questions | Georgia: S2E2.c, S4E2.a |
| Grade 5 | |||
| 5-PS2-1 | Earth's gravity pulls things down | Worlds, Re-entry tracker, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds | Texas: 6.7A; Florida: SC.K.E.5.1, SC.1.E.5.2, SC.5.P.13.1; Georgia: S4P3.b |
| 5-ESS1-1 | Why the Sun looks brighter than other stars | The Sun in 3D, Deep Space: light-time, What's that light in the sky? Printable questions | Texas: 2.9A; Florida: SC.3.E.5.3, SC.3.E.5.1; Georgia: S2E1.b, S4E1.b |
| 5-ESS1-2 | Shadows, day and night, and the stars by season | Live ISS tracker, What's that light in the sky? How many sunrises do astronauts see? | Texas: 5.9; Florida: SC.4.E.5.1, SC.4.E.5.4; Georgia: S2E2.a, S2E2.b |
| Middle school | |||
| MS-ESS1-1 | Moon phases, eclipses and seasons | Moon globe, Eclipse tracker, Live ISS tracker Moon diary | Texas: 4.9B, 6.9B, Astronomy 8A, Astronomy 8B; Florida: SC.8.E.5.9; Georgia: S6E2.a, S6E2.b, S6E2.c |
| MS-ESS1-2 | Gravity holds the solar system and the galaxy together | Deep Space, Live Globe, Near-Earth objects Printable questions | Texas: 7.9B; Florida: SC.8.E.5.4; Georgia: S6E1.d |
| MS-ESS1-3 | How big, and how far: the scale of the solar system | Deep Space: light-time, Worlds, Mars globe Voyager 1 light-time | Texas: 7.9A; Florida: SC.8.E.5.1, SC.8.E.5.3, SC.8.E.5.7; Georgia: S6E1.c, S4E1.d |
| MS-PS2-4 | Gravity attracts, and it depends on mass | Worlds, Moon globe, Deep Space Weight on other worlds | Texas: 6.7A, IPC 5E; Florida: SC.6.P.13.2, SC.8.P.8.2; Georgia: S8P5.a |
| High school | |||
| HS-ESS1-1 | The Sun's fusion, its life span and the energy that reaches us | The Sun in 3D, Aurora forecast, Space telescopes Printable questions | Texas: Astronomy 12D; Florida: SC.912.E.5.4, SC.912.E.5.3; Georgia: SAST3.b, SAST5.a |
| HS-ESS1-2 | The evidence for the big bang | Space telescopes, JWST tracker, Hubble tracker Printable questions | Florida: SC.912.E.5.1; Georgia: SAST4.a |
| HS-ESS1-3 | How stars make the elements | Space telescopes, The Sun in 3D, JWST tracker Printable questions | Florida: SC.912.E.5.3; Georgia: SAST5.a, SAST5.c |
| HS-ESS1-4 | Predicting orbits with mathematics | Satellite directory, Types of orbits, Live ISS tracker Kepler's third law | Texas: Astronomy 11A, Physics 5H; Florida: SC.912.E.5.6; Georgia: SAST1.d, SP2.d |
| HS-ESS1-6 | Meteorites, moon rocks and Earth's early history | Near-Earth objects, Moon globe, Meteor tracker Printable questions | Florida: SC.912.E.5.5; Georgia: SES1.a, SAST3.a |
| HS-PS2-4 | Newton's law of gravitation, with Coulomb's law | Worlds, Satellite directory, Live ISS tracker Weight on other worlds, Geostationary orbit | Texas: Physics 5H, IPC 5E; Florida: SC.912.P.12.4; Georgia: SP2.e, SP5.a |
About these codes
These are our suggestions for where each tool fits. Always preview a page before using it with a class: some tools show ads, these school pages do not.
Codes are performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards*, for example 5-ESS1-2. Each summary is our own wording; follow the link on a standard page for the official text.
Suggest a link
Know a better fit for your class, or a topic we have missed? Tell us and we will add it.
Share this page with one link: orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards
Cite this page
Pick a style, then copy it or download it for your reference manager.Orbital Radar. (2026, November 6). Space science standards. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards
“Space science standards.” Orbital Radar, 6 Nov. 2026, orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.
Orbital Radar (2026) Space science standards. Available at: https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards (Accessed: 6 November 2026).
Orbital Radar. “Space science standards.” Last modified November 6, 2026. https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards.
@misc{orbitalradar_schools_us_standards,
author = {{Orbital Radar}},
title = {Space science standards},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
howpublished = {\url{https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards}},
url = {https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards},
urldate = {2026-11-06},
note = {Accessed 2026-11-06}
}TY - ELEC AU - Orbital Radar, TI - Space science standards PY - 2026 DA - 2026/11/06 PB - Orbital Radar UR - https://orbitalradar.com/schools/us/standards Y2 - 2026/11/06 LA - en-US ER -
Live figures change, so keep the date you accessed the page. How to cite Orbital Radar
* Next Generation Science Standards is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.