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Work starts on beaming solar energy from space
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Solar Energy - Level 0
There is a climate crisis. We need to stop using oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) is testing giant solar farms in space. It wants to send energy wirelessly from space into people's homes. One solar-farm satellite could make the same amount of power as a power station. The ESA wants many of these farms in space.
The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA wants "a clean and secure energy future". This means becoming more carbon-neutral. The ESA said we needed to cut the use of fossil fuels. Solar farms could help us to do this. One farm is around 1.7 km long. This is bigger than the International Space Station, which is 110 m long.
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Solar Energy - Level 1
There is a climate crisis. We need to stop using fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started a project to test giant solar farms in space. The ESA hopes to send energy wirelessly from space into people's homes. A spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could make the same amount of electricity as a power station. The ESA wants to put many of these farms in orbit. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and end energy shortages.
The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA wants "a clean and secure energy future". It said solar power from space could be very helpful. It said we needed to become carbon-neutral, and change the way we produce energy. It said we needed to cut the use of fossil fuels. It added that solar farms could "solve a lot of problems". The farms will be around 1.7 km long. This is bigger than the International Space Station, which is 110 m long.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Solar Energy - Level 2
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There is a climate crisis, so we must change how we get our power. We need to stop using fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started a three-year project to test huge solar farms in space. The ESA hopes to send energy wirelessly from space into millions of people's homes. An ESA spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could make the same amount of electricity as a power station. She added that the ESA's aim is to have many of these giant satellites in orbit. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and end energy shortages.
The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA wants Solaris to create "a clean and secure energy future". The agency told the BBC that solar power from space could be of "enormous" help. It said: "We need to convert into carbon-neutral economies, and therefore change the way we produce energy. We especially need to reduce the fossil fuels." It added: "If you can do it from space…this would be absolutely fantastic. It would solve a lot of problems." The satellites will be around 1.7 km long. This is bigger than the International Space Station, which is 110 m in length.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Solar Energy - Level 3
The world is in a climate crisis. We need to change how we get our power. This means we need to end the use of fossil fuels, like oil and gas. The European Space Agency (ESA) has started on work that could provide millions of homes with clean energy. It has approved a three-year project to test huge solar farms in space. ESA engineers hope to send energy wirelessly from space into people's homes. Testing will take place over three years. An ESA spokesperson said one solar-farm satellite could create the same amount of electricity as a power station on Earth. She added that the aim is to have many of these giant satellites in orbit. They could cut our use of fossil fuels and reduce energy shortages.
The ESA project is called Solaris. The ESA states on its website that it wants to create "a clean and secure energy future for European citizens". Josef Aschbacher, the director-general of the ESA, told the BBC that solar power from space could be of "enormous" help. He said: "We need to convert into carbon-neutral economies and therefore change the way we produce energy. We especially need to reduce the fossil fuel part of our energy production." He added: "If you can do it from space, and I'm saying 'if we could,' because we are not there yet, this would be absolutely fantastic. It would solve a lot of problems." The satellites will be around 1.7 km long. The International Space Station is 110 m in length.
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25 online activities | 27-page printable | 2-page mini-lesson
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