This is an activity about spacecraft design. Teams of learners will model how scientists and engineers design and build spacecraft to collect, store, and transmit data to earth. Teams will design a system to store and transmit topographic data of... (View More) the Moon and then analyze that data and compare it to data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter . (View Less)

This is an activity about mission planning. Learners will use the roles of a navigation team, spacecraft, comet, Earth, and Sun to simulate how mission planners design a spacecraft/comet rendezvous. This activity requires at least four active... (View More) participants and a large open space. Includes mathematics extensions. (View Less)

This is a lesson about spacecraft communication. Learners will explore the concepts of "signal" and "noise" by listening to a computer-generated signal from two different distances with no additional background noise, and then with background noise,... (View More) and compare their experiences in a science journal page. (View Less)

This is a lesson about programming and communications in space exploration. Learners will simulate sending commands to operate a robotic arm to complete a task. This is lesson 13 of 16 in the MarsBots learning module.

This is a lesson about solar system exploration. Learners will understand that combining information gathered by a variety of robots gives us a more comprehensive understanding of our solar system. Learners will explore a planet made up of a... (View More) combination of materials while simulating the perspective of different missions: pre-launch reconnaissance, fly-by, orbit, and landing. Learners will record and share their observations. Requires the book "Seven Blind Mice" by Ed Young. This is lesson 8 of 16 in the MarsBots learning module. This lesson is adapted from "Strange New Planet," an activity in the "Mars Activity Book." (View Less)

In this lesson, learners will use History of Discovery cards and interpretive skits to examine how scientists throughout history have explored Saturn. The lesson enables students to discern the multicultural nature of scientific inquiry and to see... (View More) how technology improvements increase our ability to solve scientific mysteries. The lesson also prepares students to create and interpret their own timelines spanning the years 1610 to 2010. The timelines depict scientists, technologies, and discoveries. This is lesson 4 of 6 in the Saturn Educators Guide. (View Less)

This is a lesson about science as a human endeavor. Learners will use a diverse collection of profiles of people who work on the Cassini–Huygens mission to learn about science as a human endeavor and to reflect on their own career goals and... (View More) personal impressions of the mission. This is lesson 6 of 6 in the Saturn Educators Guide. (View Less)