A Teacher's Perspective on Mars Exploration

An eight-wheel engineering model of the Mars Pathfinder Microrover being driven across the surface of Washington State. From left: Mars Pathfinder engineers Tom Rivellini, and Howard Eisen, fellow teacher Keith Olive, and the author.

For more than three thousand years, Mars has captured the imagination of humankind. It has also been the subject of intensive scientific study. NASA began exploration of Mars with the Mariner 4 mission in 1964-65 and will continue on July 4, 1997, when the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft touches down on the Red Planet at the mouth of a giant flood channel, Ares Vallis. This mission will give me and teachers like me all over the country the opportunity to simulate the process with an interdisciplinary curriculum. Students will participate in a mission from start to finish. They will develop an invigorated interest in language, math, science, and technology while they experience first-hand the thrill, the challenge, and the unique adventure of simulated space travel.

PROGRAM DESIGN Mirroring the Mars Pathfinder mission is concieved to be a completely hands-on activity. Students will construct a simulated Mars surface, design a model of their own Pathfinder spacecraft, study all the aspects of planning, and then simulate a mission. During this simulated mission they will provide news coverage, perform experiments, gather data, and finally debrief the entire process.

Here is how it breaks down in a timeline: September/October: Students study Mars and its geographical characteristics. One focus will be on composition of Martian rocks and soils (as in the real mission). The re-creation of Mars is accomplished using papier mâché. October/November: Students design and engineer model Pathfinder landing systems and rover vehicles using a popular building system for children called K-Nex®. At each step of the mission students will be creating Hypercard®, HyperStudio® stacks, and multi-media presentations to showcase their studies. The computer presentations will then be on display during the mission for everyone to view. The use of a video spigot card will allow students to record the trials and errors they come across in creating their various vehicles and then put them into the computer as a part of their Hypercard stacks. This programming exercise will enable students to reach a level of learning surpassing anything they could learn from a book. They must use logic, planning, analytical thinking, and cooperative learning to complete the stacks. December/January: Students design a method of protecting their vehicle, as it will be dropped from a 25-foot (7.6-meter) ladder onto the student-made surface of Mars.

February: MISSION DAY: Community, parents, and other students are invited to watch as students drop their vehicles from a ladder, then have to control their vehicles to make soil and rock collections. Guests will be given the opportunity to predict which designs will be successful. All project methods will be analyzed and data collected and recorded from the best designs.

Sharing information is what I do, with not only students and colleagues, but the general public and community. On November 2, 1995, I spoke to the Everett, Washington, business community by invitation of the Everett Foundation, sharing my interactive Field Trip Week on Mars (see a report on this Field Trip in the previous issue of The Martian Chronicle). In addition, Viacom Cable, Boeing, the University of Washington, City University, and Western University have all asked me to speak for various public functions on the Pathfinder Field Trip.

Daily, I send e-mail to school with a Mars "Tip of the Day", facts about the upcoming missions, or some type of related information to staff. In services offered for my school and district, our staff give other teachers the opportunity to create "Monday Mars Madness," where we as a school offer some type of fun creative Mars activity each Monday. The day is filled with activities that stimulate and activate imagination.

For example:Martian Drivers License: my students created the first drivers license for the planet Mars. With the help of Washington state officials-Representative Dave Schmidt, Governor Mike Lowry, state trooper Brad Ray, Department of Transportation official Bill Stevens, and Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro, my students and I hosted an all-school assembly. Brian Cooper (with the support of JPL/NASA) attended the assembly for the (surprise) purpose of taking a drivers test with the rover. With great excitement in the air, over 700 students, parents, and community members gathered in our cafeteria to learn about Pathfinder and see Brian take the test. He passed with flying colors, and all officials gladly signed the First Official Drivers License for Mars. We wouldn't want Brian to receive a ticket for driving on Mars without a license! And pride was added to the excitement as an invitation was extended by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to display the license, making it the first piece of student work from the state of Washington to be placed on display at any of the Smithsonian Institutions.

To date, the reception of information from the Pathfinder Field Trip has stimulated excitement and the search for more knowledge. Students, staff, and community members alike have a renewed interest and feel they have been personally touched by the upcoming mission. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. As John W. Gardner said: "All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants." This field trip gave me and my fellow teachers the tools, resources, and support to help our students grow their own learning.--

Fran O'Rourke Cheick Diarra,
Mars Exploration Program Education and Outreach Manager