Mars Exploration 2004
News Flash: Water on Mars!!! || Glossary
There are MANY Incredible sites with information on Mars. Here are a few we will be using:
The New Mars - a nice "flashy" site (you will need a fast connection speed). From the top horizontal menu you may select:
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Why Mars - read information about why we are exploring Mars
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MER Rovers - interactive views of the equipment and brief explanations
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Challenges - video clips from pre-launch to landing and the technology (3-12-04 The "Read More" links aren't working, however the rest is worthwhile.)
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Multimedia includes: Image Gallery (Olympus Mons, the largest volcano (known yet) in the solar system, is incredible!); Theater (short trailers); Screensavers and Desktop Wallpaper
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Explore Mars - interactive tour of Mars and many of its main features
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Mars Trivia - 3 different sections to test your knowledge!
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Drive the Rover - "Drive" the Rover around Mars and view photos and animations of current tasks. Use the "tabs" to navigate each individual photo/video.
How Much Would You Weigh on Another Planet? || How Old Would You Be on Another Planet? || 3D Solar System || Space Kids: Solar System Tour
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Parents: FREE Mars Exploration Software From NASA!!! The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released Maestro, a FREE public version of software used by NASA scientists to design goals for the Mars Exploration Rovers and analyze the images received from Mars. You may download Maestro from http://mars.telascience.org/ and use it to follow along with the rovers’ progress during the mission. You can use Maestro to view pictures from Mars in 2D and 3D and create simplified rover activity plans. During the mission, updates will be released for Maestro containing the latest images from Mars. |
Video
Updates
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Countdown
to Mars - First aired May 1, 2003 as a live and
interactive SpaceDay special, hosted by Bill Nye The Science
Guy -
Bouncing
to Mars - First aired August 27, 2003 at the
time of the close opposition of Earth and Mars: one hour documentary (Parts
of clip 3. Follow the Water used in class: overview of project,
selecting landing site, scientists, interview with Steve
Squyres, Lead Scientist, on the beach)
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First
Look - First aired January 17, 2004, when the Spirit landed,
live from NASA JPL and the Houston Museum of Natural Science,
hosted
by
Bill
Nye The
following sections may be used in class as time permits:
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2:50-4:45 Wayne Lee, Chief Engineer, and Steve Squyres, Lead Scientist (only 27 years old!)
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7:04-14:40 Explanation of landing with video from JPL during the landing
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16:50-19:51 Rover landing details
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21:30-27:03 Kobie Boykins, Mechanical Engineer (designed, built and tested the Spirit. "Impact to Egress" Details about the landing, problems encountered, and actually getting Spirit off the lander, "Six Wheels in Soil")
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27:39-29:35 Questions from children including: How long will the Rover work? How big is the lander and rover?
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30:00-31:05 Why did it take so long to deploy the Spirit Rover (12 sols)?
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31:10-31:45 How many pictures can it take in one day?
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38:00-42:40 interviews with two more scientists - What they are looking for on Mars, gathering heat information, MER team working - daily meetings to analyze data and determine what to do next, using the RAT on
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42:50-46:30 Fun student activity showing what it is like to drive a rover on Mars from earth. Great explanation and demo!
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46:30-49:10 "Follow the Water" - Scientist explaining water research on Mars, the equipment being used and how it works.
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50:11-50:30 Presidential statement about plans for human missions to Mars.
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6 Minutes Over Mars - To premiere Spring 2004: one hour documentary on the arrival of "Spirit" and "Opportunity" at Mars, and how 6 years of effort came down to 6 minutes of high drama.
Opportunity
Rover Finds Strong Evidence Meridiani Planum
Was Wet - Archived
copy of the Mar. 2, 2004 webcast (Scientist
explaining rock forms first, "Geological Field Trip" begins at 12:50)
MER
Animation - A close look at MER from
JPL, NASA & Cornell University (Used
in Class: shows launch to landing on Mars)
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The Mission - overview of the current Mars mission.
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Timeline: 1992 to 2004 - Outstanding brief overview of the
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Mars Facts - Basic information
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Mars Facts: The Missions - We began the "Space Race" in 1960. For nearly 50 years, our civilization has been attempting to send spacecraft to Mars. By the beginning of the 21st century, only 10 missions out of 33 tries had been a complete success. Journey with us down the rocky road of Mars exploration.
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News - current and archived articles with photos
Mission to Mars for Kids - Great information, including:
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Your Weight on Mars - from Mission To Mars - bottom of page
Mars Exploration Rovers (MER)
Learn about the MERs at these sites. The sun provides enough power for driving during a four-hour window around noon. The rovers trek up to 328 feet each sol (Martian day).
Mars Exploration Rover Mission Home - NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers up-to-the-minute information from Mars. Track the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, see the latest images of the Red Planet and more! Special section for students: Mars for Kids
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Specific sites for: Mars Pathfinder || Mars Global Surveyor ||Mars Odyssey || Mars Express || Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Exploration Rover Briefings on NASA TV
Mars Images Mars Profile (from Welcome to the Planets - a collection of images from NASA's planetary exploration program.)
Images of Mars and All Available Satellites -
Mars Exploration: Multimedia -
Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Multimedia - Don't miss the 3-D Images, Panoramas, or Space Craft Images!
Mars Orbit - This animation shows how Earth and Mars move around the Sun in their orbits.
Mars Images from NASA: Planetary Photojournal (images) or Gallery (video) -
AMNH Mars - American Museum of Natural History Mars site. Many outstanding pages with easy to understand information. Here are some pages you don't want to miss:
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Water on Mars? - click on the photo for information in movie form
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Mars Gazette - Lots of great information. Don't miss: Travel Advice (Thinking of visiting Mars? Get the answers to your questions here!) || Mars vs. Earth (Chart to compare data) || Pathfinder's Port of Call (Article about the landing site and why it was chosen) || Destination Mars (Great descriptions of Mars) || Mars in the Solar System (brief, but valuable information) || Martian Dust Storm (Did you know that Mars has a cycle of seasons similar to ours?) || Mars Moon Doomed, Experts Say (Mars has two moons) || Mission Possible (Why study Mars? To learn more about earth!) || Interview with the Four-Billion-Year-Old Mars Rock!
Mars Introduction || Animations of Mars || Animation of the Olympus Mons Caldera || Martian Volcanoes || from Views of the Solar System (Spanish version)
Volcanism on Mars - from VolcanoWorld -
Mars -
Planet Structure - from Windows on the Universe
Drive On Mars Movies - A selection of Movies from Drive On Mars
Did you know? Mars has the largest volcano in the Solar System, Olympus Mons.
Play Space Sense to test your knowledge of space trivia (Unless you have thoroughly studied Mars you will want to begin with the beginning level of Space Sense for Kids.)
Mars Fun Activities: Word Search || Slider Puzzles || Concentration
Fun & Games featuring: Play Order it Up: Solar System Edition || Junk in Space ||
This is a large site with navigation in a left frame. If it is missing go to Mrs. Barnard's Classroom Launcher.
Contact Paula Barnard at Pioneer Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, WA, USA
Updated 06/17/2005