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Curriculum:
(From Home Page)
In
the summer of 2002 dozens of teachers from across the country attended a series
of meetings and workshops sponsored by NASA, the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the National
Science Foundation. The primary goal of these meetings was to refine a
nine week (45 hour) unit of study that would be academically rigorous in math
and science while also being engaging and fun for students. The secondary
goal was to train a set of teachers to implement the program and re-deliver the
training to other teachers.
Steven Dworetzky of
Thomas Star King Middle School in Hollywood, California and Ken Berry from Cal
State/JPL directed the activities at a variety of
locations including Steven's Robotics Lab. As a result of much hard work by
Steven, Ken, and the teachers, a set of Lesson Plans were developed and will be
available online and in print soon.
The following overview of the project's activities has been borrowed from those
materials. Much more detail is available in the final documents. In
addition, Steven Dworetzky plans to publish a much more detailed step-by-step
procedures with standards correlations in the near future. Those materials
will be available at mars-rover.com as well.
Students participating in
the Mars Rover Project will complete a series of research, design, and building
activities.
Below is a brief overview of the types of activities in which students
will be engaged:
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Workshop pictures
courtesy of Imagiverse.org
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Build a
Marscape
in this portion of
the project, students will...
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research the
geology and geography of Mars via books, articles, the internet, and any
other resources they identify.
-
break into
groups and design a Marscape using four strips of paper with the intention
of connecting the sheets in the future.
-
transfer (to
scale) their design to four 2' X 8' sheets of plywood.
-
attach newspaper
and chicken wire to the plywood to establish basic geological formations.
-
apply paper
mache (starch and water) to finalize the land forms.
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paint Marscape.
-
add a cross
section of a mountain to reveal the geological development of the planet
over time.
-
explain the
geological forces that helped form the planet's surface.
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add different
color/compositions rock to indicate different minerals on Mars. Defend
choices with scientific evidence.
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enclose the
Marscape with side walls and paint with appropriate mars horizon images.
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shine a light on
the Marscape so students can investigate and measure shadows cast.
Students can determine the height of formations using this data.
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estimate the
time of day based on shadow angles cast by the light and formations.
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calculate the
velocity and angle of impact of rocks that hit the planet by studying damage
to its sandy surface.
-
create a grid on
the Marscape to establish latitude and longitude for navigational purposes
Build a Mars
Exploration Rover
in this portion of
the project, students will...
-
build a basic
Mars Rover based on instructions provided to them.
-
make adjustments
and modifications to the rover to make it more stable on the Mars landscape.
-
program the Mars
Rover to navigate across the entire Marscape.
-
generate a
spreadsheet identifying the total number of parts necessary for its
assembly. This spreadsheet will include costs of individual items,
totals, and taxes.
-
maintain a
checking account to pay for all supplies used during the project.
-
write a grant
(to their teacher) to obtain additional funding for their project
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use algebra to
calibrate the rate of speed of the rover traversing the Marscape. They
will then organize the information into a chart showing how far the rover
travels at various time intervals and speed settings.
-
calibrate the
rate of speed on a smooth surface.
-
find a third
surface on which to calibrate the rover's speed ( i.e. an inch of loose sand
).
-
calibrate the
speed of turn rotation (degrees) of the rover on various terrains.
-
generate graphs
showing comparisons of rates of forward and turning speeds.
-
calibrate rates
of speed a while going up and down ramps of various angles (5-30 degrees)
and account for variations in the speeds of the ascending and descending
rover.
-
establish a
maximum angle at which the rover can operate, how and why is the rover
limited in this way, how can the rover be modified to increase these angles,
and whether it is cost efficient to enact these modifications.
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publish a manual
documenting all calibration data with charts and theories of why there are
variations based on the terrain.
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create a chart
to compare their rover to NASA's Mars Exploration Rover. Compare
proportions and scale.
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analyze tracks
left in the mars landscape to determine the rover's path
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add a device to
the rover enabling it to collect small stones or sand/soil.
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devise a method
of digging into the loose sand/soil to expose the hard surface underneath.
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devise a method
to measure the size/depth of the hole (and rocks, valleys, etc.)
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add an eye
dropper to conduct remote chemical experiments.
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conduct
experiments where a small amount of acid (or other chemicals) are placed on
stones on the Marscape/analyze the effects of various chemicals on the
stones.
Capture Images
of Marscape
in this portion of
the project, students will...
-
add
camera to rover
-
devise a method
of tilting and turning the camera
-
devise a method
of estimating sizes of objects seen in the rover's path ( i.e. graduated
scale on something visible by the camera).
-
take pictures of
full 360 degrees of Marscape.
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take pictures of
experiments, stones, and other points of interest on the Marscape.
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calibrate the
rover's wireless camera as to its depth of field and range of vision.
Use this calibration to help calculate distances and sizes remotely.
-
estimate the
degree of the camera's scope of vision.
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list the
advantages of having a camera on the Mars Exploration Rover.
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list advantages,
disadvantages, and limitations of installing a second camera on the rover.
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attach a color
strip to the rover within the view of the camera for comparative analysis.
Image
Processing
in this portion of
the project, students will...
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learn basic
utilities and functions of a professional graphics processing program.
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open image of
Aldrin on the moon.
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investigate and
understand function of the magnifying glass and grabber tools.
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study color
coordinates and how they relate to actual displayed colors.
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study
"look-up tables", color wheels, color mixtures, and RGB technology
of computer monitors.
-
modify
"look-up tables" for a graphic and observe/explain the changes in
the graphics.
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set-up scale
within image processing software.
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use scale
calibration to determine sizes and distances between objects within an
image.
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colorize a
monochrome image.
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determine height
and width and distances between various formations on the Marscape.
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study the colors
of the Marscape to determine the mineral make-up of items found in the
Marscape.
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use image
processing to generate a 3D image of the Marscape.
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use image data
to create a scaled-down version of the Marscape.
Space
Exploration
in this portion of
the project, students will...
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establish why
are we exploring Mars?
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investigate what
we hope to learn from Mars exploration?
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analyze how Mars
exploration can help us?
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investigate why
we should send a robot to Mars prior to sending a human.
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study what
information we need to have prior to sending a human to Mars?
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define the steps
involved in a robotic exploration of a planet?
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design a living
quarters for astronauts going to Mars.
-
build a scale
model of astronauts living quarters.
-
list the
missions planned for Mars in the next 10 years.
-
list robotic
missions that are still active
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