Mars challenge resources

A few places to visit to get a head-start

The Mars Explorer Challenge is a great starting point for cross-curriculum learning.

To help you get started, check out the following websites and downloads.

Video and online scene setters

Ben Gilliland’s articles in The Metro are a perfect starting point for the topic. Lively writing, great images, well presented facts and figures and easy to access video content and easily searchable content.

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/blog/2011/02/11/past-present-and-future-hunt...

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/blog/2011/02/18/past-present-and-future-hunt...

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/blog/2010/10/29/welcome-mars

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/category/tags/mars

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/could-first-martian-pioneer-be-monkey

http://www.cosmonline.co.uk/blog/2010/03/15/if-i-were-superman-id-fly-ov...

Video Scene Setters Set to Music

Mars Rover
A ten minute animated video by NASA, Cornell – uses nice range of modern music and excellent animations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UmRx4dEdRI

An eight minute video by NASA Cornell set to Holst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZWOGcdC_PI

Short animated video with music displaying features of the Mars Rover

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp4QVNmm2JI&feature=related

Exo Mars: Europe’s First Tracks on Mars (1 minute)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLOneYBsQmM&feature=related

ESA – What is Exo Mars Going to Do on Mars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0wGjZZQWSw&feature=relmfu

A fifteen minute Video about careers in science at Astrium and Bridget

http://www.teachers.tv/videos/spacecraft-engineer

Curiosity - Mars Rover Animation

http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/videoarchive/

Science

Find out about the Viking Mission and its scientific objectives from this video:

http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/resource/1121/mars-viking-....

Check out the Phoenix Mission. How does it compare with earlier missions?

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html

Check out Mars Express:

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMM9RY1LJG_0.htm

Find out more about the Aurora and ExoMars missions:

http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/assets/pdf/Aurrep.pdf

www.esa.int

Food for thought

Consider how scientific knowledge is gathered...

How would you prove that life exists on Earth?

What signs would there be?

What signs would you look for on another world?

Get some Mars facts:

http://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEM3VIWJD1E_LifeinSpace_0.html

http://Marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutMars

http://marsed.asu.edu

The maths behind Mars exploration

Discover some facts and figures about the journey to Mars. How much would you weigh on Mars? How long would it take to get there? How long would it take you to get there if you went on a bicycle, or if you walked, or by airplane? What is a sol? These are excellent websites with lots of links to other Mars related resources including video footage, images,

http://athena.cornell.edu/kids/weight.html

http://Marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/allaboutMars

Design and Technology

Junk Modelling

http://quest.nasa.gov/mars/teachers/tg/program2/2.3.html

Edible Mars rover:

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/docs/Edible_Mars_Spacecraft.pdf

Paper-based models:

http://esamultimedia.esa.int/images/spcs/goodies/models/Mars_express_mod...

How to build a model car from recycled material:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6879932_build-model-car-recycled-material.html

Kit models

Lego Mindstorm models:

http://us.mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/Community/NXTLog/DisplayProjectList....

Science and Engineering Club Boxes – Mars Mission, available from Science Museum Learning:

www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/scienceboxes

Functional models from the Mars Society and the University Rover Challenge:

http://urc.Marssociety.org/

http://roverteam.cs.yorku.ca/index.html

Examples from American Rover Challenges

http://www.vimeo.com/17892618

Fun stuff

Have a go at driving a Mars Rover:

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/m2k4/driverover/frameset.html

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMM9RY1LJG_0.htm

Get lots of free downloadable screensavers from the ESA website:

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMZNUW4QWD_0.html

Mars in words

Read the well written factual background to Missions to Mars in Space:UK published by the UK Space Agency.and use as a guided reading text or stimulus for factual writing.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/bispartners/ukspaceagency/docs/spaceuk/10-6...

http://www.Marstoday.com

http://www.stfc.ac.uk/SciProg/Aurora/ExoMars/5081.aspx

http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Our+Research/Aurora/5077.aspx

Read the journals of Bridget as she undergoes trials:

http://www.astrium.eads.net/en/articles/mars-rover-field-trials.html

Check out other rovers that have visited Mars:

http://spiritrover.livejournal.com

http://Marsrover.nasa.gov/home

Follow the timeline and mission of Curiosity, due for launch in 2011:

http://Mars.jpl.nasa.gov

Fiction and drama

Read The War of the Worlds by H. G Wells (1898).

How would the story differ if it had been written by the Martians?

How did they prepare to explore another world?

There are lots of other great books about Mars – let us know your favourites.

Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury or Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Does their view of Mars fit with what we know?

The geography of Mars exploration

Where would you land your Rover and why?

What would the Martian landscape look like?

Where would you find maps of Mars?

What does Mars look like on Google Street view?

What is the terrain like?

What rocks would you find?

What features would you find – sand, valleys, canyons, craters?

Where can you find these features on Earth?

http://www.google.com/Mars

The history of Mars exploration

What are the key milestones in exploring other worlds? What is the timeline for the ExoMars and other Mars exploration missions? How does the exploration of Mars compare and contrast with other exploration journeys?

http://Mars.jpl.nasa.gov