Exploring “Martian” Science8th Grade

Objectives:

· The student will be able identify some of the challenges involved with designing and conducting missions to Mars.

· The student will be able to explain how temperature and pressure affect the state of water on Earth and Mars.

· The student will be able to describe how geologic processes and features on Earth are similar to and different from those on Mars.

· The student will be able to identify the major landforms on Mars

Engage 1: Draw a Model of the Solar System - Make overhead

Explore 1: Exploring Orbital Motion: the Marble in the Can Demo

Explain 1: Determining Orbital Velocities of the Planets in our Solar System

Explain 1: How to Calculate the Average Orbital

Velocity for Earth (how fast?)• Step 1: Write down the formula

Speed = Distance/ Time (S=D/T)

• Step 2: Plug in any known variables Do we know any? Yes! S: Time = 365 days T: S = D/ 365 days (we'll

convert to hours later)

• Step 3: Take out overhead of Solar System from Engage 1 and re-illustrate

Earth's basically circular orbit around the Sun.

Write on overhead “Average Orbital Distance is about 584 million miles”.

Plug in Distance: S = 584 million miles/ 365 days

• Step 4: Plug the numbers in calculator.What is the answer?S: 1.6 million miles a day

• Step 5: Let's convert to miles per hour. (use easier numbers first)

T: (illustrate on overhead) If the Earth traveled 240 miles in one day around the Sun, it would look like this. (draw a small portion of the orbit around the Sun)

We need to divide this amount of distance up into 24 hour segments. Just divide 240 miles by 24 hours. What's the answer? S: 10 miles per hour

• Step 6: Let's use the real numbers now. (illustrate on overhead - or have a student draw it!)Divide 1.6 by 24 = .067 million miles per hour

• Step 7: Let’s get rid of the decimal!

Answer? (100, 1000, 10,000 mph? more?)

Elaborate 1: Calculate Average Orbital

Velocity of Mars

• Students calculate Average Orbital Velocity of Mars on their own following Steps 1-7 on the overhead

Students are provided with the average distance Mars travels in its orbit around the Sun, (900 million miles/year)

Time: 687 Earth days for one orbit around SunAnswer: about 1.3 million miles/day or 54,000 mph

Evaluate 1:

• How much faster is the Earth orbiting the Sun than Mars?

S: 13,000 mph

• T: How could this make it difficult for NASA to conduct missions to Mars?

Day 2 & 3: Build up to final Assessment on Day4

(Develop “New” Roving Mars Mission)

• Engage 2: List at least 3 questions you would like to explore before we send humans to Mars (Create a list on board)

– Possibility of life - Resources

– Liquid Water - Climate/Atmosphere

– Geology

• Explore 2: Explore Past and Current Missions to Mars - Jigsaw with Teams

• Explain 2: Teacher Describes Main types of Instrumentation Used in past missions to Mars ( handout “Mars Exploration” - Instrumentation)

Mars:(2004) Spirit/Opportunity

Instruments

Spectrometer

Microscopic Imager:

• “Blueberries” have been found throughout Opportunity's Mission

• . They are thought to be hematite concretions formed when minerals are precipitated from groundwater.

• The presence of “blueberries” to support the idea that this rock outcrop was once soaked in liquid water.

• Explore 3: Where do we find water (H20) on Earth? How does it behave?

• Elaborate 3: How Water Behaves on Mars

• Explore 5: Landforms on Mars - (goal? Choose landing site for new mission)

Explore 5:Martian Landforms

• Transparency Exercise

• Students are asked to hypothesize about how each of the landforms were created. They should write their answers on a sheet of paper. Connections should be made with what they already know about Earth and Lunar geology.

Explain 5:Martian Landforms

• Teacher introduces formal terms: volcanism (volcanic features are not common - there are less than 20 named volcanoes on Mars, and only 5 of these are giant shields), lake beds, fractures, polygonal ground, river beds, tectonics, canyons, erosion, cratering, lava flows, calderas, channels, freeze/thaw

• Quick Assessment: Students make a chart with five categories

1. Erosion (#1, #5) 2. Tectonics (#2)3. Volcanism (#2, #7, #8)4. Cratering (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7)5. Possible evidence of water (#1, #3, #4, #6)

• Students are re-shown each Martian landform. They should write down the name or type of each landform and its corresponding number in the category that best describes how it was formed.

Volcanic RocksSpirit on “Lorre Ridge”

Where to Land?

• http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/video/opportunity01.html#Dust

• Try to survive the landing!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLaMoNb6le0

• Rover can only venture about 1 km from the lander

Explore 6:Communication

• Students explore concept of radio waves on Earth and in Space (satellite delay) – How fast is the speed of light?

– How long did it take to send a message to the Moon?

• Communicating with Rovers – challenges

• How long does it take to send make a “long distance call” to Spirit or Opportunity? (Answer?)

Roving Mars AssessmentCreate a Mission Plan to send a “New” Rover to Mars

a. Select Mission Objectives: what are the goals of your mission? (evidence of water, minerals, resources)

b. Choose an Appropriate Landing Site (explain):

c. Design a “test course” below that resembles a possible landing site for your rover. What materials could we use from this classroom to

test our Rover?

d. Discuss communications (how would you account for the delay?)

e. Choose instrumentation, but be careful of too much added weight! (you can take along anything used previously, but you must also take

along at least one new instrument - think about why you chose this site!) *draw a quick sketch of your new instrument (s) and describe what it will be

used for.

f. Plan for expected and unexpected terrain and weather, and also contingencies for breakdowns, etc (mechanical problems).