Design a rover.
Give students a mission: "Survive a Martian dust storm" or "Last 14 years." Ask them to sketch a rover, choose a power source and explain their choices.
01 / CREW READINESS TEST
Mission check.
02 / TRANSLATION LOG
Glossary
03 / SIGNAL CLARITY
Frequently asked
questions.
04 / TEACHER'S CORNER
Take the mission
into the classroom.
Scale it up.
Cut out the size of Sojourner (microwave oven), Curiosity (small car) and the Apollo rover, and compare them on the floor.
Signal delay game.
Two students play "Mission Control" and "Rover." Add a 3-minute to 22-minute delay between messages. What changes?
Discussion questions
- Is it OK to leave machines on other worlds? Why or why not?
- Which discovery in this site surprised you the most?
- If you designed the next lander, what would you leave behind?
05 / CREDITS AND FURTHER READING
Continue exploring with the people and archives behind these stories.
NASA Science: Mars rovers and landers, Artemis and LRONASA JPL: rover and helicopter missions, news releasesNASA Image and Video LibraryNASA PhotojournalLROC, Arizona State University: Apollo site photographsNASA Space Science Data Archive / NSSDCAApollo Lunar Surface Journal and Apollo Flight Journal
Captions credit the NASA center or team named with each image. NASA imagery is generally available for public use; individual items may carry additional restrictions. This independent project is not endorsed by NASA.
CHAPTER 05 / AFTER THE QUESTIONS
Now step back
into the starlight.
Watch the worlds draw near, then scatter into the dust and light they left behind.
Enter the Effects Lab →