Voyage
to
Mars


Introduction to Mars

Research Tasks

The Process

Mission Teams

Participation

Pre-Mission Activities

Mission Overview

Post-Mission Activities

Team Reflection

Resources

Credits

Pre-Mission Activities

Your teacher will inform you about which of the following activities you will conduct and when you will do so.

WHOLE GROUP ACTIVITIES

General Mars Information:
  • What Do You Know About Mars (Pretest)
  • Vocabulary/Vocabulary Activities
  • Crossword
  • Word Search
  • Why Do We Explore?
Communications Practice:
  • Can We Talk??!!
  • Legos Experiments
  • Loooong Distance Communication
Following Directions:
  • Task Card Practice/Airplane Activity
  • Can You Follow Directions?
  • Your Teacher is a Mind Reader
Problem Solving:
  • Egg Drop
  • Mission Survival
  • Who Goes?

 

TEAM ACTIVITIES

Communications (COM)
  • Communication Coding
  • Choose Your Words Wisely
  • Forming an Image with Pixels
 
Medical Team (MED)
  • Reaction Time Test/Reaction Lab
  • The Mirror Maze: Distortion in Space
  • Pulse and Blood Pressure/Astronaut Heart Rates
 
Isolation Team (ISO)
  • Radiation Activity
  • Humans and Robots
  • The Electromagnetic Spectrum
 
Life Support Team (LS)
  • Acids and Bases
  • Hydroponics
  • Identifying and Reading Lab Equipment
 
Data Team (DATA)
  • Cryptograph-Decoding Practice
  • Good Vibrations
  • Keyboard Practice
 
Navigation Team (NAV)
  • Communication Practice
  • Longitude and Latitude
  • Navigation and Trajectory/Plotting the Paths of Spacecraft
 
Probe Team (PROBE)
  • Building a Spacecraft
  • Circuitry
  • Moon Hunt
 
Remote Team (REM)
  • Rock Classification
  • Reading Equipment with Scales
  • Life Check
 
Press Team (PRESS)
  • Lab: Video Team
  • The 5 W's
  • An Eye for Details
 

Individual Research:

  • Each member of your team should research his or her assignment using the “Resources” page, and find the answers to the assigned questions. By no means, however, limit yourself to only the questions listed. If something catches your eye as interesting that you were not aware of before, make note of it. After doing your research, you should be able to answer each question provided on the Research Tasks page at the very least.
  • Make sure to keep track of resource references used for your research as well as the use of any important quotations found throughout your research.

Sharing Research Findings:

  • After each member has finished the appropriate research, your group members will meet to share your findings with your other group members. Class time will be provided for all groups to meet; however, there will be a limited amount of class time, so be prepared when it is time to share your research findings. This will help to ensure that every member in the group is knowledgeable of the topics researched by the other group members and will allow every member to participate with other group discussions.
Informational Resource:
  • To prepare for your congressional hearing, your team must produce one of the three following types of visual aids: a brochure (plus enough copies to go around to everyone in the class), a poster large enough to be seen by everyone in the class, or a PowerPoint presentation to describe your findings and the role of your team.
  • See the "Evaluation" page in order to determine what should be included in the visual aid.

Congressional Hearing:
  • Your group will prepare an oral presentation communicating your findings. The oral presentation must incorporate your visual aid that helps to present the information.

Support for program number HST-ED-90285.01-A was provided by NASA through a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.

Copyright (c) 2007 Challenger Learning Center at Prairie Aviation Museum and Challenger Learning Center of Northwest Indiana. Staff of Challenger Learning Centers and instructors of classes involved with Challenger Learning Center missions may reproduce this WebQuest guide for classroom and educational purposes. Otherwise this work may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed, in any form or by means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

This page is based upon the WebQuest model.

Last updated 7/16/2007