Page 107 - ShareSpace's Mars Map Teacher's Guide - Sept 2016

 demonstrate understanding of Mars exploration and environment in their Mars
rover prototype, and

 demonstrate communication and other 21st Century skills.

ENGAGEMENT

1. Show the class the Mars Rover First Video Footage YouTube video.
2. Ask students in their teams to make a list in their STEAM notebooks of things they should

consider when designing their Mars Rover prototype based on what they’ve learned in
previous lessons and from video footage from the surface of Mars.

EXPLORATION

1. Visit the computer lab in your school or demonstrate for students the NASA-JPL Curiosity
Rover simulator.

2. Hold a brief discussion with students to share ideas or things they learned about how a real
Mars Rover operates.

3. Provide students ~30 minutes of research and blueprint design time to conduct additional
research and to begin the construction of a blueprint drawing of their Mars Rover prototype.

4. Student teams will begin building their small-scale model of their next generation Mars
Rover using materials provided or brought from home.

EXPLANATION

1. In the explanation phase, student teams will identify where on the Giant Mars Map they
would intend to land their Mars Rover and sketch out on graph paper the region of Mars
they intend to explore and what they expect to find/search for.

2. Students will prepare a seven-minute “mission briefing” presentation to present their
prototype and mission plan to the class (or panel of experts).

3. Prototype and mission plan will be used again in Lesson 13 – Mission Debriefing.

EXTENSION

1. Prepare a set of Rover Races job cards for each rover team. Use 3” by 5” index cards and
write the job titles on them:
 1 “Rover Driver” card
 3 “Rover Student” cards
 1 “Timer” card
 1 “Official” card

2. Use pieces of laminated construction paper (or similar) to create the obstacle course on the
Giant Destination Mars Map. The course design can be anything. See (G) Course Setup
Example.

3. Use small traffic cones (or any appropriate item) to represent rock samples by placing them
around the Mars Map.

4. STEP ONE: ROVER COURSE (~15 minutes)
A. Have the students brainstorm about how a robotic vehicle on another planet (e.g.,
Mars) might be driven. Create a list of ideas.
B. Independently or together, read the following story about how the main driver of
the Sojourner Rover earned a “Rover Driver’s license”:
(http://tes.asu.edu/TESNEWS/6_VOL/2NO/brian.html).

Giant Destination Mars Map Teacher’s Guide
Lesson 12 P. 2