Education Plan: Land on Mars
After a successful launch to Mars, students need to land their spacecraft. Erisa Stilley, an entry, descent and landing engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks about her job on the Perseverance Mars rover mission and some of the important factors to consider when landing a mission on the Red Planet. Watch en Español: Seleccione subtítulos en Español bajo el ícono de configuración.
Mission This Week
Now that we’ve learned about Mars, planned our mission, designed our spacecraft, and launched, it’s time to land on Mars! Landing on Mars is tricky, and NASA engineers have to do a lot of designing, testing, and redesigning to make sure spacecraft can land safely. This includes designing and testing each part of the landing system, including the parachute, as well as programming the rover's computer to perform each landing maneuver flawlessly all on its own.
Just one of the challenges spacecraft, including Perseverance, have to overcome is slowing from nearly 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometers) per hour upon entering the atmosphere to about 2 miles (3 kilometers) per hour by the time they're just above the surface.
Tips This Week
Landing on Mars is tough! NASA engineers –and students – must test designs repeatedly and redesign landing systems based on test results. Reassure students that success is rarely achieved on the first try.
Encourage students to be creative and use found materials as they solve this week’s landing design challenges.
Resources
This Week's Education Resources
Use these STEM lesson plans, projects, videos, and articles to get students learning what it takes to land a spacecraft on Mars. Lessons and projects are standards-aligned. These assignments can be done in any order and in part or in full as schedules allow.
