Mars Experience

(2 hour Program) is life on Mars possible? Explore geology, maneuvering a rover, and test cells for exposure to cosmic rays.

Important Dates

Registration Opens:
Wednesday, June 01, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Registration Closes:
Monday, April 23, 2012, at 5:00 p.m.

Program Starts:
Monday, September 12, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.

Program Ends:
Friday, June 29, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.

Contact Information

For more information about this program, contact:

Menzel Smith-Jones
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg.400C – P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000
631-344-4495 (phone)
631-344-7098 (fax)
slc@bnl.gov

Is life on Mars possible? Students will follow a mock-mission to explore maneuvering rovers, the harmful effects of radiation, the challenges of working in space, and much more. Students will examine the geological and atmospheric differences between Mars and Earth. Emphasis will be placed on the collaboration between BNL and NASA scientists.

Vocabulary

Electromagnetic spectrum, element, atom, compound, diffraction, magnetite, Mars regolith, simulant, radiation, Petri dish, cells and colonies, shielding, Geiger counter, glove box

Audience for This Program

Middle School/ Jr. High School Grade level 6th, 7th, and 8th

Program Benefits

Lesson Objectives

1) Work collaboratively to complete a mock mission, recording data in a mission log.

2) Use remote operation to maneuver a rover over Martian landscape.

3) Demonstrate an understanding of cosmic radiation: what it is, its damaging effects on humans,and what scientists are doing at BNL