Channels, mountains stretch across this overhead view of Jezero Crater overlaid with an oil-slick of colors representing science data.

Mission to Mars Student Challenge

Education Plan: Learn About Mars

Before they can launch to Mars, students need to learn more about where they're going and why. Moogega Cooper, a planetary protection engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shares her tips for this key first step to planning a successful Mars mission. Watch en Español: Seleccione subtítulos en Español bajo el ícono de configuración.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mission This Week

Before they can launch to Mars, students need to learn more about where they're going and why. This week, students will learn more about the Red Planet and determine what they hope to find. This will help them design their mission and plan for launch, arrival, and surface operations.

Tips This Week

Scientists, and students, learn about Mars to gain an understanding of what's known and unknown about the Red Planet and to develop questions that have yet to be answered. Once they have determined what’s known and what they want to learn, students will be ready to plan their mission.
Learning about Mars can help generate new questions about topics that have already been explored. Encourage students to engage their curiosity and think of ways they might get answers to their questions.
In addition to the lessons you select from below, encourage students to learn about Mars by perusing NASA’s Mars Exploration website.

Resources

Learn About Mars Newsletter

This Week's Education Resources

Use these STEM lesson plans, projects, videos, and articles to get students learning about Mars. Lessons and projects are aligned to NGSS and Common Core Math standards. These assignments can be done in any order and in part or in full as schedules allow.

Lesson .

What Do You Know About Mars?

Students decide what they want to learn from a robotic mission to Mars.

NASA Space Place.

Mission to Mars: A Scavenger Hunt

Students can complete the scavenger hunt activity by reading the selected articles on the NASA Space Place website to find the answers to each clue. Once they have all the clues, they will be able to spell the secret word!

Video .

Mars in a Minute: Is Mars Really Red?

Mars is often known as the Red Planet, but is it really red? This 60-second video answers one of the most frequently asked questions about our planetary neighbor.

Video .

Mars in a Minute: Is Mars Red Hot?

What would it feel like if you could stand on Mars – toasty warm, or downright chilly? Find out more about the temperature on Mars in this 60-second video.

Video .

Mars in a Minute: How Long is a Year on Mars?

How long is does it take Mars to make one trip around the Sun and why is one Earth year shorter? Find out in one minute!

Video .

Mars in a Minute: How Did Mars Get Such Enormous Mountains?

Why are the tallest peaks in the solar system found on one of its smallest worlds? Like any planet, how Mars looks outside is tied to what goes on inside.

Video .

Mars in a Minute: What's Inside Mars?

We know what the Red Planet looks like from the outside – but what's going on under the surface of Mars?

Video .

Mars in a Minute: Are There Quakes on Mars?

Are there earthquakes on Mars – or rather, "marsquakes"? What could they teach us about the Red Planet?

Lesson .

Art and the Cosmic Connection

Students use art to describe and recognize the geology on planetary surfaces – now including Mars and asteroids.

Lesson .

Solar System Bead Activity

Students create a scale model of the solar system using beads and string.

Lesson .

Whip Up a Moon-Like Crater

Whip up a moon-like crater with baking ingredients as a demonstration for students.

Student Project .

Make a Moon Crater

Make craters like the ones you can see on the Moon using simple baking ingredients!

Video .

Solar System Size and Distance

How big are the planets and how far away are they compared to each other? Find out in this video about the scale of our solar system.

Lesson .

Exploring the Colors of Mars

Students use satellite and rover images to learn about the various features and materials that cause color variation on the surface of Mars, then create their own “Marscape.”

Lesson .

Planetary Poetry

In this cross-curricular STEM and language arts lesson, students learn about planets, stars and space missions and write STEM-inspired poetry to share their knowledge of or inspiration about these topics.

English Language Arts

Student Project .

Write a Poem About Space

Are you a space poet, and you didn't even know it? Find out how to create your own poems inspired by space!

English Language Arts

NASA Space Place.

Article: The Mars Rovers

Read about and compare the rovers NASA has sent to Mars, from Sojourner to Perseverance.

NASA Space Place.

Article: Why Do We Care About Water on Mars

Using images of Mars, read about how NASA begin its search for water on the red planet.

NASA Space Place.

Article: All About Mars

Learn about Mars history and the missions NASA has sent in this interactive article.

Student Project .

Explore Earth and Space With Art - Now Including Mars!

Find out how art and science are connected. Then take a quiz to see if you can use elements of art to identify features on Earth’s surface. *Now, extend your skills with our newly added Mars quiz!

Lesson .

Modeling Silicates and the Chemistry of Earth's Crust

Students will use marshmallows to model the formation of silicates – the family of minerals that make up most of Earth’s crust – then analyze their chemical and physical properties.

More Education Plans

A spotlight shines on the Perseverance rover in a dark chamber as an engineer covered in white protective clothing works on the rover.

Introduction

Learn about the challenge and how to help students create their very own mission to Mars.

A dotted line shows a landing capsule entering Mars' atmosphere, curving to the right, releasing a parachute, then curving down and dropping a rover on Mars.

Plan Your Mission

Once we have some knowledge about our destination, it’s time to plan our mission to Mars.

Three people in white smocks position the head-like masthead of the Perseverance Rover with a design schematic on a screen behind them.

Design Your Spacecraft

Students must use creative thinking to brainstorm a design for their Mars spacecraft.

A rocket blasts off, spewing clouds of smoke across a green landscape intersected by roadways and backdropped by a blue ocean.

Launch Your Mission

Students will learn about Newton’s laws of motion and brainstorm a rocket design.

An overhead view of the rover suspended on cords and tethers shows the dark brown surface of Mars as exhaust from the sky crane sweeps dust to the side of the frame.

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.

A squiggly path flows from the Jezero Crater floor to Hawksbill Gap and down to Enchanted Lake where the rover's current location is starred.

Surface Operations

Students will identify areas of geological interest and put scientific instruments to use.

10 photo strips show sample tubes deposited on a rocky brown surface, the rover casting its shadow over each view.

Sample Handling

Students learn how we sample rocks on Mars and package these samples for return to Earth sometime in the future.

A spotlight shines on the Perseverance rover in a dark chamber as an engineer covered in white protective clothing works on the rover.

Introduction

Learn about the challenge and how to help students create their very own mission to Mars.

A dotted line shows a landing capsule entering Mars' atmosphere, curving to the right, releasing a parachute, then curving down and dropping a rover on Mars.

Plan Your Mission

Once we have some knowledge about our destination, it’s time to plan our mission to Mars.

Three people in white smocks position the head-like masthead of the Perseverance Rover with a design schematic on a screen behind them.

Design Your Spacecraft

Students must use creative thinking to brainstorm a design for their Mars spacecraft.

A rocket blasts off, spewing clouds of smoke across a green landscape intersected by roadways and backdropped by a blue ocean.

Launch Your Mission

Students will learn about Newton’s laws of motion and brainstorm a rocket design.

An overhead view of the rover suspended on cords and tethers shows the dark brown surface of Mars as exhaust from the sky crane sweeps dust to the side of the frame.

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.

A squiggly path flows from the Jezero Crater floor to Hawksbill Gap and down to Enchanted Lake where the rover's current location is starred.

Surface Operations

Students will identify areas of geological interest and put scientific instruments to use.

10 photo strips show sample tubes deposited on a rocky brown surface, the rover casting its shadow over each view.

Sample Handling

Students learn how we sample rocks on Mars and package these samples for return to Earth sometime in the future.

FAQs