# data[].attributes.body
Mission to mars

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Imagine having to survive on another planet: Mars! Students design a sustainable community, considering criteria and constraints in an engineering and design process, learning Earth science concepts along the way. Human discovery and innovation often depends on our curiosity about science, technology, and society and ways to improve our lives and on our interactions with the natural world. Students build on their prior knowledge of communities on Earth and design their model for a community on Mars.

2. Earth, Earth's Moon, Mars Balloons
Lesson:
- Grades K-4 (PDF, 757 Kb)
- Grade 5 (PDF, 760 Kb)
- Middle School (PDF, 760 Kb)
Standards Alignment:

Students construct scale models of Earth, Moon, & Mars to discover size and scale. Associated Mars Information Slideshow: Through a PowerPoint Presentation, students learn about the environmental constraints that would affect human habitation of Mars.

10 min.

75 min.

Video: Mars in a Minute: How Do You Get To Mars?

3. Solar System Scale & Size
Lesson:
- Grades K-4 (PDF, 299 Kb)
- Grades 5-8 (PDF, 300 Kb)
Standards Alignment:

Students will create a model of the solar system using beads and string, and compare planetary sizes using common types of fruit and seeds. This lesson follows the simple balloon model in Lesson 2, covering the relationships of size and distance in the solar system.

20 min.

1 hr.

Video: The Challenges of Getting to Mars: Launching a Mars Rover

7. Marsbound
Lesson:
- Grades 5-12 (PDF, 571 Kb)
- Game Board (PDF, 566 Kb)
- Game Board (tiled for printing)
(PDF, 9.74 Mb)
- Game Cards (PDF, 1.07 Mb)
Standards Alignment:

By playing an interactive card game, students create a mission that balances science return with mission constraints.

1 hr.

3 45-min. sessions

Video: How do you Land On Mars?

8. Lava Layering
Lesson:
- Grade 4 (PDF, 7.2 Mb)
- Middle School (PDF, 7.2 Mb)
- Grade 4 (PDF, 2.7 Mb)
- Middle School (PDF, 2.7 Mb)

Standards Alignment:

By creating models of lava flows with play dough, students analyze the layers that form on a planet to understand its history.

10 min.

90 min

9. Mystery Planet
Lesson:
- Grades K-8 (PDF, 3.7 Mb)
Standards Alignment:
- Grades 2-5 (PDF, 2.9 Mb)
- Middle School (PDF, 2.8 Mb)

After receiving crustal samples, students observe the characteristics and make inferences about the history of an unknown planet, including whether it might have life.

10 min.

90 min

10. Rover Races
Lesson:
- Grades 3-5 (PDF, 2.9 Mb)
- Grades 6-12 (PDF, 2.9 Mb)
Standards Alignment:

Working in small teams, students pretend to be a rover and learn the constraints of operating a rover on Mars.

45 min.

105 min.

Video: The Challenges of Getting to Mars: Selecting a Landing Site

11. Mars Image Analysis
Lesson:
- Grades 5-12 (PDF, 17 Mb)
- Supplemental Materials (PDF, 30 Mb)
- Middle School (PDF, 8.2 Mb)
- High School (PDF, 8.2 Mb)

- Student Guide (PDF, 7.7 Mb)
Standards Alignment:

Students use orbital images of Mars to analyze its environment.

10 min.

3 hrs.

Mars Image Analysis (PDF, 9.79 MB)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
NASA Imagine Mars - Mars Survival Kit - NASA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This Mars survival kit edition of Imagine Mars is a series of activities that help you learn about the planet Mars and prepare you for the culminating challenge of imagining and designing your own Mars community.