To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...

Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...

Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

How in the world can something as big as the solar system possibly fit in your pocket? Complete this simple modeling activity and find out, as young scientists gain an appreciation for the incredible scale of outer space.

Trying to understand the vastness of outer space can be quite a challenge for young scientists. Help put things in perspective with this cross-curricular activity as students work in pairs creating scaled models of...

What do Newton's Laws have to do with getting from Earth to Mars?The activities in this resource show how Newton's Laws work with rockets to get them into space. Background information includes facts about orbits and how orbits...

The earth sciences are the focus for this Jeopardy-style review game. Categories include geology, space, scientific investigation, meteorology, and oceanography. Diagrams and pictures are involved with most of the questions, making this...

In groups of six, middle school space scientists create an imaginative travel brochure for attracting visitors to the planet Mars. Information must include surface features and atmospheric conditions. Although time-consuming, this is a...

Sixth graders simulate the creation of impact craters on Mars.Through the creation of model surfaces, the effects of an impacting object's mass, velocity and size are determined, and the features of the resulting crater are identified.

Students examine core samples from Mars and discover what they can use it to tell the history of Mars.  In this core sample activity students create and analyze their own core samples then eat them at the end.

Learners decide whether or not there is or has even been water on Mars. They analyze temperature and pressure data from the Pathfinder mission to Mars, and then they analyze images of Mars, interpreting the landforms they see and...

High schoolers build simple stream tables and vary the angle of the stream tables in order to simulate different flow rates and compare the results. They observe various features formed in a stream table by flowing water and compare...

Students describe in words and graphic displays the elevation or depression profile of sections of Mars' Olympus Mons and/or Valles Marineris. They explain how orbiting spacecraft build up global maps one data slice at a time.

Students calculate real ratios that exist between the planets Earth and Mars. After a lecture/demo, students use worksheets and access Internet sites to do their calculations.

In this planets worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer by determining their weight on that planet, its distance from the sun, the days it would take to travel from the Earth, and any other special features.

Students create a thinking web about Mars.  In this exploratory lesson students pretend they are going to Mars and use a worksheet to answer questions about why they would visit and what they would bring. 

In this space exploration worksheet, learners complete a 6 question multiple choice on-line interactive exercise about the exploration of Mars.

In this planets worksheet, students read information about Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn and then complete 21 multiple choice, 1 true or false, and 2 fill in the blank questions.

Students define the origin of rock samples and how surface core samples can tell us about the history and make-up of Mars. Candies are used as a Martian surface sample. Students study the samples and make a hypothesis about the cause of...

Students investigate one or more of the following topics and develop a plan for the future regarding it: global warming, lunar exploration, space travel, Mars exploration, or terraforming. They disucss the audio files and the video that...

Students study Mars and other plants in the night sky. In a planetarium setting using Digitarium planetarium system, students identify the Big Dipper and Polaris. They explore the major differences between the planets and the stars. ...

Middle schoolers reivew the seven traditional reasons why people explore. They write a summary of their reasons why humans explore. Pupils illustrate their exploration summaries. Students relate the reasons for exploration to the...

Students investigate the equipment of Planetary Land Rovers. They construct one using various food products for construction materials. The lesson includes historical background for the teacher to introduce the information. The grading...

Middle schoolers examine the properties of metal that can be used on the surface of Mars. They research the Internet to determine the properties of Mars and determine which metals are compatible. They create a slide show presentation of...