MOON eQUEST ⋆ Phoenix Space

MOON eQUEST

Turning lunar settlement design into a real-world learning experience in STEM, sustainability, and teamwork.

A MISSION TO THE MOON

Phoenix Space Moon eQuest is a self-paced remote-learning experience in which students learn about space and rocket science through a combination of taught lessons and experiments presented in a mission-based approach.

Moon-Equest turns abstract science into lived imagination. For young people navigating displacement, inequality, or educational gaps, it opens up a mindset of possibility:

“If I can design for the Moon, I can design for my community.”

Moon-Equest is a hands-on STEM program where students are challenged to design and prototype sustainable life systems for a human settlement on the Moon. Working in teams, participants explore real-world issues – from climate adaptation to food security and shelter – through the lens of space colonization.

But this isn’t just science fiction.

Moon-Equest builds transferable skills in systems thinking, engineering design, sustainability, and collaborative problem-solving – all anchored in local relevance. Whether imagining solar-powered farms or dust-resistant structures, students are encouraged to draw on the challenges of their own environments while dreaming beyond Earth.

COURSE DETAILS

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Understand sustainability challenges in extreme environments

Apply design thinking and basic engineering concepts

Work in teams to develop and pitch lunar prototypes

Connect planetary science with real-world problem solving

Each lesson has the following structure:

SCIENTIFIC CONTEXT

The topic introduction is given with a clearly defined problem and its relevance.

TEACHING

The mathematical and/or scientific knowledge is taught.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Each student will use their new knowledge to investigate and solve the presented problem.

EXTENSION

Additional tasks are given for students who wish to do more.

The course consists of the following lessons:

GETTING THERE

An Overview of Rocket Science

Students learn about rockets through a series of DIY demos launching rockets using compressed air, small chemical reactions and maybe even solid rocket fuel matchstick rockets.

Students learn about forces, acceleration, gravity and what is required to leave our own planet and reach the moon. Along the way they pick up knowledge of the history of rockets and space travel, the nature of near space and the moon.

MESSAGE RECEIVED

Communication in Space

Students learn about the communication time-delay between earth and the moon and how to use the formula for speed/distance/time to calculate one of the missing variables. They can use this to work out the time delay between a network of satellites.

After this, students learn to convert letters to numbers, and decimal to binary representation to allow them to send messages back to earth using flashes of light.

WHAT, NO AIR?

The Impact of Atmosphere

The students have arrived on the moon. One of the first things students should know about the moon is that it has no atmosphere. Why does this matter and how do objects behave differently on the moon?

Students learn to calculate the volume of air required for astronauts to take with them, why parachutes work on earth and won’t work on the moon and what that means for landing and moving on the moon.

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Designing a Moonbase

The Phoenix Moonbase needs to be made and it’s up to our students to design it using calculations about area, distance and efficiency. Students will get an introduction to the challenges posed to designers and engineers when creating any large project.

HEAVY NEWS

Gravity and Its Effect on Space Missions

Students learn the formula for gravitational field strength and will see why the moon has much less gravity than earth. They also use this fact to calculate the maximum height that an object can reach when launched upwards.

Students apply this knowledge to make judgements about other bodies in the solar system, and discuss the future of their moon base as a stepping stone.

The Phoenix Space Moon eQuest program is presented to our students who complete the Phoenix Voyager program.

MOON eQUEST OVERVIEW


Course goal	Develop sustainability and systems thinking through a space-themed challenge: designing life systems for a lunar settlement.
Content	~10 hours of content, covering planetary science, basic engineering, environmental constraints, and team-based prototype design.
Duration	Typically delivered over 3–5 days.
Instruction method	In-person or hybrid delivery, using guided worksheets, teamwork challenges, and presentations of student designs.
Student ages	13–18 years old.

THE MOON eQUEST INCLUDES

10 hours of interactive teaching instruction in a self-paced mode

10+ hours of interactive homework

Printable course guides