Education Plan: Surface Operations
After safely touching down on the surface of Mars, it's time for students to start operating their spacecraft. Amila Cooray, a mechatronics engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, talks about his job on the Perseverance Mars rover mission and what goes into operating a mission on the surface of the Red Planet. Watch en Español: Seleccione subtítulos en Español bajo el ícono de configuración.
Mission This Week
Having safely landed on Mars, students' rovers are now ready to explore. This week, students will identify areas of geological interest and put scientific instruments to use.
Tips This Week
Encourage students to follow their curiosity and engage with lessons and activities in their areas of interest, whether it's rocks, volcanoes, the interior of the planet, or the search for life.
Encourage students to engage in engineering activities to understand the technology that enables exploration.
When students find the answer to a question they have, ask them if that answer makes them think of other questions they might want to try to answer.
Resources
This Week's Education Resources
Use these STEM lesson plans, projects, videos, and articles to get students learning how scientists and engineers operate rovers 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.
