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Event Details
12/07/2006
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Mission to Mars Challenge
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Mars
Target Audience: Students
Educators: K-12
Informal Educators

Grade Level: 5-8,9-12

Event Focus : NASA's Vision for Space Exploration calls for a permanent human presence to be established on the Moon and Mars. Robotic missions are currently exploring the surface to provide our future explorers with information necessary to plan a mission. What are the team planning and design challenges necessary to plan a mission to Mars?

 

Description:

Join NASA in this unique design challenge where students design their very own Crew Exploration Vehicle or pinpoint the safest and best location for a Mars landing.  They will have the opportunity to get an in-depth look at how current NASA scientists are approaching the very same problems.  Hop aboard and join us as we prepare your students to meet their objective of producing a successful mission to Mars.  Experience the team planning and design challenges needed to develop a successful planetary exploration mission. 

Challenges are a two-connection activity generally scheduled 3 to 4 weeks aparts, and must be registered for separately.  Click on each heading below to register for both of the connections - Part 1 and Part 2 separately.

            + Mission to Mars Challenge - Part 1
               During the first video conference, students will interact with a NASA
               Education Specialist to introduce them to the Martian terrain and learn
               about prior rover landings.  Students will then be issued a challenge to
               design a Crew Exploration Vehicle or a topographic map showing an
               ideal place to land on Mars. Additionally your models will have to meet
               certain criteria and constraints. Your Challenge is open-ended and 
               involves a variety of collaborative and creative problem solving efforts!


            + Mission to Mars Challenge - Part 2 
               During the second video conference, students will do formal
               presentations back to the NASA Education Specialist to show their end
               design or the safest location to land on Mars. The final design and
               landing site should be presented back to NASA using visuals such as
               PowerPoint or videos to demonstrate their results.

 

 

 

Instructional Objectives:

Engage

TLW share prior knowledge about Mars, and NASA’s past, present, and future missions with the NASA Education Specialist
Explore
TLW compare and contrast planets Earth and Mars in order to understand factors to consider in planning a mission to Mars
Explain
TLW discover how trajectory, launch window periods, and communication delays impact the planning process for a mission to Mars, and examine the Mars Rovers missions from launch to landing in order to understand how future human missions to Mars may be planned and accomplished
Elaborate
TLW demonstrate their understanding of the team planning and design challenges needed to develop a successful planetary exploration mission by working with teammates to design a Crew Exploration Vehicle and choosing a landing site
Evaluate
TLW present their results to the NASA Education Specialist during the second connection through vehicle models, topographic maps, and defend their reasons behind their designs and landing sites
Sequence of Events
Pre-Conference Activities:

The items below are previews of the activities only.  For the complete module and event information, please see the Complete Educator Guide.

     "Navigation and Trajectory" Activity:
          Students will consider the relationships of the
          planets as they move around the Sun and the 
          time/ fuel it would take for a payload to travel 
          between the Earth and Mars.
               + Detailed activity information

     "Mars Rover Egg Drop and Landing (EDL)" Activity:
          Students will complete the activity where they will
          learn how to successfully execute an EDL
               + Detailed activity information



               + Complete Educator Guide

 

Prior to the event, students should take the pre-event assessment quiz. Click the link below for the on-line quiz.


 
+ On-line pre-event assessment quiz
   
Videoconference Activities:
   
Post-Conference Activities:

After the challenge is issued, students will use the resources provided as well as their own to design their Crew Exploration Vehicle or determine the safest Mars landing site.  They will then prepare a formal presentation to present during the next conference with NASA.

Students will complete the post conference quiz to assess their knowledge gained from the challenge. 


 

 
+ On-line post-event assessment quiz
 
Standards
National Science Education Standards (NSES)
Science as Inquiry - Content Standard A
As a result of activities in grades 5-8 and 9-12, all students should develop: 
            Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry by designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site. 
            Understandings about scientific inquiry by designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site.

Science and Technology - Content Standard E
As a result of activities in grades 5-8 and 9-12, all students should develop: 
            Abilities of technological design by designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site. 
            Understandings about science and technology by designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
Standard 4 - Measurement
In all grades students should: 
            Apply a variety of techniques, tools, and formulas for determining measurement when designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site.

Standard 8 - Communication
In all grades students should: 
            Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking to communicate with others in a presentation. 
            Express mathematical ideas coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others in a presentation.

International Technology Education Association (ITEA)
Design - Standard 10 
            Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving by designing a crew exploration vehicle and choosing a landing site 

The Designed World - Standard 17 
            Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use information and communication technologies through the design of their presentation.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
(8.1) Scientific processes. The student, for at least 40% of instructional time, conducts field and laboratory investigations using safe, environmentally appropriate, and ethical practices. The student is expected to:
(B) make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the disposal or recycling of materials.
(8.2) Scientific processes. The student uses scientific methods during field and laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:
(A) plan and implement investigative procedures including asking questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and selecting equipment and technology;
(B) collect data and make measurements with precision;
(C) organize, analyze, evaluate, make inferences, and predict trends from data; and
(D) communicate valid conclusions.
(8.3) Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
(A) analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information;
(C) evaluate the impact of research on scientific thought, society, and the environment; (8.5) Scientific processes. The student knows that relationships exist between science and technology. The student is expected to:
(A) identify a design problem and propose a solution.
(B) design and test a model to solve the problem
(C) evaluate the model and make recommendations for improving the model.

 
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Editor: Robert Starr
NASA Official: Dr. Shelley Canright
Last Updated: December 7, 2006
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