June 12, 2013

Mars Probes

This term in elementary/middle school, students have been learning about how Europe colonized the New World. To the Europeans, America was a mystery. They had no maps, no tools, no established food production or trade partnerships, and no knowledge of the civilization that existed before they arrived.

To help the students understand what is would have been like to establish themselves in a new land, we've been doing a science unit in which we research about Mars and plan a Mars colonization project. Before moving to Mars, the students want to send unmanned probes to gather data. Here are their probe missions and designs. (Click the pictures to magnify them.)