Mission-based learning with a spacecraft Digital Twin

01What MissionLab is

MissionLab teaches spacecraft engineering by having learners operate a deterministic Digital Twin of a CubeSat. They make a prediction, run the model, compare evidence, make an engineering decision and state what the model does not prove.

The same spacecraft serves a Grade 6 class and an university cohort. What changes between them is the academic depth disclosed — not the physics underneath. That is what makes the progression real rather than a relabelling of the same worksheet.

• One model, six depths. The same spacecraft serves Grade 6 and university learners. What changes is the academic depth disclosed, not the physics — so the progression is real rather than repackaged.
• Learners produce evidence, not clicks. Every mission ends with a prediction, a comparison, an engineering decision and a limitation statement. That is what the teacher reviews.
• Honest about what it is. Evidence is labelled simulated, derived or reference. Nothing is presented as measured flight data, and no accreditation is claimed.
• Nothing to install or administer. No accounts, no learner data, no hardware, no LMS integration. A teacher can run a mission from a browser.

02How a lesson runs

A mission is teacher-guided and takes one session of roughly 55 to 70 minutes. Learners work in pairs. The sequence is fixed, so a teacher who has run one mission can run any of them.

1. 01Theory
2. 02Mission Question
3. 03Prediction
4. 04Digital Twin
5. 05Evidence
6. 06Analysis
7. 07Engineering Decision
8. 08Teacher Review
9. 09Home Follow-up

The learner finishes with a record: their prediction, the evidence they selected, the decision they made and the limitation they stated. That record is what the teacher reviews. It stays in the browser unless the learner prints or downloads it.

03The progression

04Mission families

Twelve engineering domains are mapped in the framework. Two are complete pilot lessons today; the rest are designed but not yet polished into lessons. We keep that distinction visible rather than counting mapped work as delivered.

• · First Contact & Spacecraft Systems
• · Sensors, Telemetry & Data Quality
• · Electrical Power & Energy Management
• · Attitude, Motion & Reaction Wheels
• · Feedback, Estimation & Control
• · Communications & Ground Link
• · Orbit, Ground Track & Contact Planning
• · Payload / Imaging / Mission Data
• · Thermal & Environmental Constraints
• · Faults, Diagnosis & Recovery
• · Integrated Mission Operations
• · Model-versus-Hardware Verification / Capstone

05What your school provides

• Devices. One computer per pair of learners, with a modern browser. No installation.
• Accounts. None. Learners are not asked to register, and no personal data is collected.
• Hardware. None. The spacecraft is a software model; no kit is required to complete a mission.
• Teacher preparation. One planning period. The lesson ships with prompts, an answer key, misconceptions and timings.
• Timetable. Two sessions of about 55–70 minutes, or one double period.
• Internet. A standard school connection. Nothing is streamed or downloaded.

06Programme options

Costs are agreed with the school and depend on scale and duration. We would rather discuss that against your actual grade levels than publish a figure that fits nobody.

07What this is not

• — It is not an accredited qualification, and no examination board has reviewed it.
• — It does not produce an official grade. Assessment is formative and teacher-reviewed.
• — It is not a hardware programme. No satellite kit is supplied or required.
• — It does not use real satellite telemetry. The spacecraft is a deterministic model.
• — It is not classroom-validated yet. The two lessons are pilot lessons pending educator review.

Tracked ≠ signal received ≠ data decoded

That line appears in the product itself. Learners are taught that a modelled pass is geometry — it is not a received signal, and it is not decoded data. Being precise about evidence is part of the engineering, not a disclaimer bolted on afterwards.

08How to start

The sensible first step is a two-session trial with a single class. It costs the school one planning period and two lessons, and it produces enough evidence to judge the fit.

You can also simply try a lesson yourself before contacting anyone — no account is required.