Mission to Mars
October 2, 2000
Web posted at: 7:49 PM EDT (2349 GMT)
Editor's note: If you are planning to use this lesson plan for a homework assignment, please write the URL on the board and have your students copy it. CNNfyi.com updates the site in the early evening, so students may have difficulty finding it without the URL. You can find the lesson plan by going to the Subject Areas page and clicking PREVIOUS in the square for Today's Lesson Plan.
Objective:
The students will be able to:
- Explain different types of exploration devices to Mars
- Create a device made from straws and tape that will prevent an egg from breaking when dropped.
Standards:
National Science Education Standards
Science and Technology, Content standard E, grades 9-12
High school students should know that science often advances with the introduction of new technologies. Solving technological problems often results in new scientific knowledge. New technologies often extend the current levels of scientific understanding and introduce new areas of research.
Benchmarks Online
The Nature of Technology, Technology and Science, grades 9-12
- High school students should know that technological problems often create a demand for new scientific knowledge, and new technologies make it possible for scientists to extend their research in new ways or to undertake entirely new lines of research. The very availability of new technology itself often sparks scientific advances.
Materials:
CNNfyi.com article
Internet access
Straws, masking tape and raw eggs
HighWired.com Mission to Mars activity worksheet
Suggested time:
1 class period
Procedure:
1. Introduce and define space exploration. Discuss Mars' orbital pattern and the atmosphere on the planet. Ask your students why they think it is important to understand Mars' attributes.
2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article. Then ask:
- What is scheduled to occur in late 2003/early 2004? What is the mission of the Beagle 2? How will the Beagle 2 search for samples of past and/or present life?
- What is the mission of 's rovers? Why is sending two rovers?
- How will both the Beagle 2 and the 's rovers land? Where will the Beagle 2 land? What were some factors that were considered when selecting a landing site?
3. Divide the class into groups of three. Each group of students will have 25 minutes to prepare a "Mars rover" with the ability for a safe landing. Give the students 20 straws, one meter of masking tape and a raw egg. Each group must create a device that will hold a raw egg which, when dropped from at a minimum of six feet, will not break. (If possible drop from the top of stairs.) Have the students test their devices by going to the site you choose to drop them. (You may want to put a trash bag down for the landing site.)
Accommodation:
Mathematical/Logical Some students can list the design attributes of the various designs and chart which ones succeed and which fail. Use their work for the discussion described in the Assessment section.
Assessment:
Have a class discussion about the different structural designs of the devices. Discuss the successes and failures of the devices. Also, have students suggest improvements that would make a failing device successful. Finally, discuss the importance of the rovers landing safely without damaging their mechanisms.
Challenge:
Have students use the HighWired.com activity worksheet to plan a trip to Mars.
RELATED SITES:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Missions to Mars
Discovery Online -- Mars Mission Intro
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
| 
