Mission to Mars Unit

What Do You Know About Mars?

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

Art and the Cosmic Connection

Students use art to describe and recognize the geology on Mars.

Solar System Bead Activity

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

Whip Up a Crater

Use baking ingredients to whip up a Mars-like crater as a demonstration for students.

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.

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.

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.

Make a Moon Crater

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

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!

Mars in a Minute: Is Mars Really Red?

This 60-second video answers one of the most frequently asked questions about our planetary neighbor.

Mars in a Minute: Is Mars Red Hot?

What would it feel like if you could stand on Mars – toasty warm, or downright chilly?

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?

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.

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?

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?

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.

What Tools Would You Take to Mars?

Students decide what they want to learn from a robotic mission to Mars and what tools they will put on their robot to accomplish their goals.

Marsbound! Mission to the Red Planet

Students learn the process of design, engineering and technology for a mission to Mars through this board-game activity.

Feel the Heat

Students learn about solar power by designing and building a solar hot water heater and seeing how big a temperature change they can get.

Let's Go to Mars! Calculating Launch Windows

Students use advanced algebra concepts to determine the next opportunity to launch a spacecraft to Mars.

Mars in a Minute: How Do You Get to Mars?

This 60-second video covers a few key things to remember when planning a trip to the Red Planet.

Mars in a Minute: How Do You Choose a Landing Site?

So, you want to study Mars with a lander or rover – but where exactly do you send it? Learn how scientists and engineers tackle the question of where to land on Mars in this 60-second video.

Robotic Arm Challenge

Students design, build and use a model robotic arm to move items from one location to another.

Make a Paper Mars Helicopter

In this lesson, students build a paper helicopter, then improve the design and compare and measure performance.

Design a Robotic Insect

Design a robotic insect to go to an extreme environment. Then, compare the design process to what NASA engineers do when building robots for Mars!

Explore Mars with Scratch

Students learn about surface features on Mars, then use a visual programming language to create a Mars exploration game.

Planetary Pasta Rovers

Students build a pasta rover that can travel down a ramp.

Build a Satellite

Students will use the engineering design process to design, build, test and improve a model satellite intended to investigate the surface of a planet.

NASA Space Voyagers: The Game

Students play a strategy card game that requires them to use problem-solving to successfully explore the Moon and Mars.

Robotics: Creating a Roving Science Lab

In this challenge, students will program a rover to use a color sensor on several rock samples, allowing them to simulate how the Mars Curiosity rover uses its ChemCam instrument to analyze light emitted from geological samples on Mars.

Robotics: Making a Self-Driving Rover

In this challenge, students must program a rover to get from point A to point B on a map without driving across any of the craters located between the two points.

Roving on the Moon

Students build a rubber-band-powered rover that can scramble across the room.

The Air Up There: Making Space Breathable

In this lesson, students will use stoichiometry just like NASA scientists in order to equip space missions with breathable air for our astronauts.

Build a Rover and More With Shapes

Use geometric shapes called tangrams to build a rover and other space-themed designs!

Make a Paper Mars Helicopter

Build a paper helicopter, then see if you can improve the design like NASA engineers did when making the first helicopter for Mars.

Design a Robotic Insect

Students design a robotic insect for an extraterrestrial environment, then compare the process to how NASA engineers design robots for extreme environments like Mars.

Code a Mars Helicopter Video Game

Create a video game that lets players explore the Red Planet with a helicopter like the one going to Mars with NASA's Perseverance rover!

Make a Moon or Mars Rover Game

Create a Moon or Mars exploration game using Scratch, a visual programming language. Think like NASA space-mission planners to design your game!

Make a Cardboard Rover

Build a rubber-band-powered rover that can scramble across a room.

JPL's Open Source Build-It-Yourself Rover

Build a driving 6-wheel rover with almost the same suspension as the real rovers on Mars using commonly available components you can easily buy online and assemble in a garage.

Mars in a Minute: How Do Rovers Drive on Mars?

Where's the driver's seat for a Mars rover? Millions of miles away, back on Earth!

What Powers a Spacecraft?

Learn how spacecraft get the power that keeps them exploring far and wide.

Tangram Rocket

Students use tangrams to create rockets while practicing shape recognition.

Rockets by Size

Students cut out, color and sequence paper rockets in a simple mathematics lesson on measurement.

Simple Rocket Science

Students perform a simple science experiment to learn how a rocket works and demonstrate Newton’s third law of motion.

Simple Rocket Science Continued

Students gather data on a balloon rocket launch, then create a simple graph to show the results of the tests.

Build and Launch a Foam Rocket

Students build rubber-band-powered rockets and launch them at various angles to learn about rocket stability and trajectory.

Rocket Activity: Heavy Lifting

Students construct balloon-powered rockets to launch the greatest payload possible to the classroom ceiling.

Soda-Straw Rockets

Students study rocket stability as they design, construct and launch paper rockets using soda straws.

Stomp Rockets

In this video lesson, students learn to design, build and launch paper rockets, calculate how high they fly and improve their designs.

Robotics: Engineering a Rocket Transporter

Students design, build and program a robotic “super crawler” to transport a payload from a starting position to a target launch pad, deliver the payload in an upright position and return the robot to the starting point.

Build a Rocket and More With Shapes

Use geometric shapes called tangrams to build a rocket and other space-themed designs!

Make a Straw Rocket

Create a paper rocket that can be launched from a soda straw – then, modify the design to make the rocket fly farther!

Parachute Design

Students design and test parachute landing systems to successfully land a probe on target.

Touchdown

Students design and build a shock-absorbing system that will protect two "astronauts" when they land.

Speaking in Phases

Students learn how waves are used in communication between far-away spacecraft and the Deep Space Network on Earth. They then practice communicating using a similar process.

Catching a Whisper from Space

Students will kinesthetically model the mathematics used to communicate with spacecraft.

On Target

Students modify a paper cup so it can zip down a line and drop a marble onto a target

Build a Relay Inspired by Space Communications

Students model NASA spacecraft communication using microdevices along with light and mirrors to build a relay that can send information to a distant detector, and then program their detector to indicate when data is being received.

Make an Astronaut Lander

Design and build a lander that will protect two "astronauts" when they touch down.

Land a Spacecraft on Target

Modify a paper-cup spacecraft so it can zip down a line and drop a "lander" onto a target.

Code a Mars Landing

Use coding and computer science to simulate how NASA lands spacecraft on Mars during the process known as entry, descent, and landing, or EDL.

Mars in a Minute: How Do You Land on Mars?

This 60-second video from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains three ways to land on the surface of the Red Planet.

Mars in a Minute: How Hard Is It to Land Curiosity on Mars?

Find out what it took for the Curiosity Mars rover to touch down successfully.

Mars in a Minute: Phoning Home: Communicating from Mars

How did we know that the Curiosity Mars rover landed safely on the surface of Mars?

Planetary (Egg) Wobble and Newton’s First Law

Students try to determine the interior makeup of an egg (hard-boiled or raw) based on their understanding of center of mass and Newton’s first law of motion.

Mars Thermos

Student teams use the engineering design process and everyday materials to design an insulator that will keep a small amount of water from rapidly changing temperature.

Looking for Life

Using the fundamental criteria for life, students examine simulated extraterrestrial soil samples for signs of life.

Lava Layering: Making and Mapping a Volcano

Students learn about Earth processes by simulating and examining lava flows from a volcano model made of play dough.

Heat Flow Programming Challenge

Students use microcontrollers and temperature sensors to measure the flow of heat through a soil sample.

Solar Oven

Students build a solar oven and learn about the importance of solar energy for establishing a Mars base.

Make a Volcano

Make a volcano with baking soda, vinegar and play dough. Then, add multiple layers that you can investigate like a NASA scientist.

Mars in a Minute  What Happens When the Sun Blocks Our Signal?

What is "solar conjunction," and how does it affect communications with our spacecraft at Mars?

Mars in a Minute  Why is Curiosity Looking for Organics?

Has Mars ever had the right ingredients for life? What are organic molecules, and what can they tell us about the history of Mars?

Explore Mars With Scratch

Students learn about surface features on Mars, then use a visual programming language to create a Mars exploration game.

Make a Moon or Mars Rover Game

Create a Moon or Mars exploration game using Scratch, a visual programming language. Think like NASA space-mission planners to design your game!