The Mars Rover and Beyond

Warm-Up Questions CPS Questions (1-2) Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Lesson Overview The history of the Mars Rover Expedition The results of the Mars Rover Expedition The goals for future rover expeditions Chapter 12, Lesson 2

(Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Quick Write If you could name a spacecraft or a rover, what would you name it and why? (Note to teacher: Use “Pick a Student” button in CPS) Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The History of the Mars Rover Expedition Spirit and Opportunity: A pair of twin rovers Mission’s main goal would be to determine if water activity existed, or had ever existed on the planet Mars came closer to Earth in August of 2000 Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Cornell University

The Challenges of the Flight to Mars Several course corrections during their voyages Wrapped inside intricately designed packages Entered the Martian atmosphere going nearly 12,000 miles per hour Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

The Basic Features of the Mars Rovers Panoramic camera – Fourteen different filters Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer – views in infrared wavelengths Mossbauer Spectrometer – looks for iron deposits Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

The Basic Features of the Mars Rovers, cont. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer – measures the concentrations of major elements in the rocks and soil Microscopic Imager – helps scientists look at the fine-scale details of Martian rocks and soils Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Anticipated Duration of the Mars Rover Expedition Expected missions to last 90 days Sand trap snared Spirit in 2009 Opportunity has not encountered the same problems Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Results of the Mars Rover Expedition Four main science goals of Mars Exploration Program 1 To determine whether life ever existed on Mars 2 To learn about Mars’ climate 3 To learn about Mars’ geology 4 To prepare for human exploration of Mars Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Results of the Mars Rover Expedition, cont. Sent the Opportunity to the Meridiani Planum, discovered the presence of hematite – an iron oxide that on Earth usually forms in an environment containing liquid water Spirit landed in the Gusev Crater Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA/JPL/Cornell

The Findings of Spirit Evidence that liquid water – and perhaps life – once existed on Mars Uncovered evidence of a long-ago explosion at a bright, low plateau called Home Plate in 2006 Scientists discovered silica, a white compound made of crystals that occurs naturally on Earth as quartz, sand or flint, and is the main ingredient of window glass Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell

The Findings of Opportunity Strongest evidence yet that liquid water once existed on Mars’ surface Layered rocks indicated that sediments were deposited in this region by wind, water, or volcanic ash First to dig a trench on Mars Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Challenges of Operating the Rovers Two of the biggest challenges facing the rovers are dust and sand Models of the rovers on Earth Scientists have been very successful in handling the challenges Mars presents Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA/JPL

The Goals for Future Rover Expeditions The Goals of the Planetary Science Program NASA has designed a planetary science program to seek answers to these and other questions: How did the Sun’s family of planets and minor bodies originate? How did the Solar System evolve to its current diverse state? Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Goals for Future Rover Expeditions, cont. The Goals of the Planetary Science Program, cont. What characteristics of the Solar System led to the origin of life? How did life begin and evolve on Earth and has it evolved elsewhere in the Solar System? What are the hazards and resources in the Solar System environment that will affect establishing a human presence in space? Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Goals for Future Rover Expeditions, cont. NASA’s program addresses the following Research objectives: To understand the history and future of habitability in the Solar System To determine if there is or ever has been life elsewhere in the Solar System To explore the space environment to discover potential hazards to humans To search for resources that would enable a human presence beyond Earth Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Goals for Future Rover Expeditions, cont. Primary goal is to conduct future missions using sophisticated robots Potential targets include Jupiter’s moons, various asteroids, and other bodies Chapter 12, Lesson 2

The Juno and Europa Jupiter System Missions Jupiter’s formation is essential to understanding processes that led to development of Solar System Juno will measure the amount of water and ammonia in Jupiter’s atmosphere and determine if the planet actually has a solid core Europa Jupiter System Mission would use two robotic orbiters Chapter 12, Lesson 2 Courtesy of NASA

The Three Types of Planetary Missions DISCOVERY MISSION NEW FRONTIERS MISSION FLAGSHIP MISSION Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Learning Check CPS Questions (3-4) Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Activity 1: Mars Rover Family Feud Support your team by answering Family Feud style review questions! Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Activity 2: Comparing Spirit and Opportunity Use the Venn diagram to compare/contrast the Spirit and Opportunity missions. Use the area where the circles overlap to write down similarities between Spirit and Opportunity. Use the left circle for writing down specific information regarding Spirit, and in the right circle, write down specific information about Opportunity. You may refer to your textbook. Be prepared to share your answers. Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Activity 3: NASA Research Objectives In your group, review the goals of the planetary science program and the four research objectives of the NASA program on page 505 of your textbook. Then analyze and discuss the questions on your worksheet as a group. Record your thoughts on the sheet and be prepared to share them with the class Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Technology Enrichment: Mars Exploration Rover Mission Update Search for current information on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission Research each of the following: Current location of both rovers Latest press release about the Mars Exploration Rover Mission New findings of the Spirit rover New findings of the Opportunity rover Current operational status of both rovers Build a PowerPoint presentation to share your findings with other groups Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Review In 2004 Spirit and Opportunity began a robotic exploration of Mars, giving NASA more insight into its history and providing clues to the ultimate question: Is there or was there ever life on Mars? The fact that the rovers have long outlived their expected life spans demonstrates that NASA engineers and scientists have been very successful in handling the challenges Mars presents Potential targets for robotic missions in the next 30 years or so include Jupiter’s moons, various asteroids, and other bodies Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Review Questions CPS Questions (5-6) Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Summary The history of the Mars Rover Expedition The results of the Mars Rover Expedition The goals for future rover expeditions Chapter 12, Lesson 2

Next… Done – The Mars Rover and Beyond Next – Private Industry Enters Space Chapter 12, Lesson 2 ©2010 Mark Greenberg/Virgin Galactic