University of Wyoming

AstroCamp

Mars Rover

Purpose:

To introduce students to the concepts of robotic missions to other	planets.

To allow students to work with technology to achieve mission goals and

build technology skills.

To give students the opportunity to work with maps and decipher	obstacles before they are even seen.

To give students the opportunity to work with coordinate systems and	relay messages to their lander to achieve mission goals.

To give students the opportunity to value the concepts of teamwork and

communication.

Wyoming State Science Standards Addressed:

Standard 2:

Students demonstrate knowledge, skills, and habits of mind necessary to

safely perform scientific inquiry. Inquiry is the foundation for the

development of content, teaching students the use of processes of	science that enable them to construct and develop their own knowledge.

Inquiry requires appropriate field, classroom, and laboratory experiences

with suitable facilities and equipment.

Benchmark 2:

Students use inquiry to conduct scientific investigations.

Ask questions that lead to conducting an investigation.

Collect, organize, and analyze and appropriately represent data.

Draw conclusions based on evidence and make connections to applied

scientific concepts.

Benchmark 4:

Students recognize the relationship between science and technology in

meeting human needs.

Standard 3:

Students recognize the nature of science, it history, and its connections to

personal, social, economic, and political decisions. Historically, scientific

events have had significant impacts on our cultural heritage.

Benchmark 1:

Students explore the history and nature of science.

1a. Students explore how scientific knowledge changes and grows over

time, and impacts personal and social decisions.

Benchmark 2:

Students explore how scientific information is used to make decisions.

2a. The role of science in solving personal, local, and national problems.

2b. Interdisciplinary connections of the sciences and connections to other

subject areas are careers in science or technical fields.

Goals:

Students will work in groups to develop teamwork skills to successfully

complete an assigned mission.

Students will use their listening skills to follow directions.

Students will use their computer skills to direct the Remote Vehicle to do

assigned tasks.

Students will learn to read a map, decipher what is there and determine an

appropriate landing site.

Students will use their map skills to determine what the rover's orientation is	upon first contact.

Students will understand the relationship between science and technology.

Students will understand the cooperation required between scientists and

technicians in order for successful missions to happen.

Entry Level:

Students will need an introduction to robotic missions to other planets.

Students will need information about how science has changed over time

and how we approach space exploration has changed as well.

Students will need an understanding of how different scientific and technical

skills are required to successfully explore space.

Students will need instruction on how to read a map and how to navigate

using only a map and a visual.

Students will need instruction on how to determine necessary angles and	meters needed to direct the rover properly.

Students will need to be placed in small groups and determine roles to be

played.

Premise:

Students will be learning about planetary exploration and the many factors

required to successfully travel to other planets. Specifically, the students	will be looking at a map of a planet, determining the appropriate area to	land, landing their rover, reading a map with a visual from the rover to	determine what their telemetry is, and direct their rover to perform certain	tasks and successfully complete the mission. Students will plot their	progress and movements on a given map or on graph paper. This will allow	students to graph their results as a record of where they came from. Students	will be given the opportunity to fill certain niches in order to complete the	mission. Time required for this activity varies depending on the size of the	area, the skill level of the students, and the quality of the equipment.	Estimated time to do activity is 1-2 hours.

Supplies:

Laptop Computers	Wireless Internet Access	Open Area

Computer Lab w/Internet Access	Web Cameras & Software	Remote Controlled Cars (Rovers)	Map of area to be explored

Objectives to photograph (i.e. rocks, water, geologic items, action figures)

Activities:

Mars Rover

Introduce:	Begin the activities by asking the students about planetary exploration and

what they know about the science behind it. Allow time for questions and	discussion.

Instruct:	Planetary Exploration has been on scientists' minds since we discovered that	different planets exist. To date this planet has landed manned missions on	one other body, and landed unmanned missions on several others. Being	able to go to other planets or moons is very important to scientists,	governments, and humans in general for a variety of reasons. At current	population growth rates, Earth will have 10 billion inhabitants by 2050.

(Source: U.S. Census Bureau)

As Earth's population grows the need for natural resources increases. The

Earth has a limited amount of natural resources and can only support so

much pressure until the entire ecosystem fails. One possibility is to start

terraforming other planets to inhabit them, or use the abundant resources	that are available there.

Other implications of planetary exploration are that we are ever curious	about our own planet's evolution. Going to other planet/moons allows us to	solve puzzles that exist here on Earth. One example of this is the recent	exploration of Titan, a moon of Saturn. We went there because of its	primitive atmosphere that resembles what atmospheric scientists believe	Earth's atmosphere looked like billions of years ago. The information found

there will help scientists to find better explanations to the problems found	here on Earth.

Another implication to being on other less massive bodies is the implication	to space travel. A less massive body has less gravity and therefore it is

cheaper to get off of that body because it requires less fuel. Further out,	bodies such as the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus or Neptune could be	used as stations for refueling or jump off points for deep space exploration.

The importance of robotic exploration is essential to the success of these

possible future missions. Learning to safely and efficiently explore space

with the use of robots will decrease the cost of human life and allow humans

to go places that are today, thought to be impossible.

Questions:

Why is it important to use robots in space exploration?

What different careers could you pursue in space exploration?

Why is it important to have a team approach when doing science?

What benefits do you, the community, the nation and the world receive as a	result of space exploration?

Why is it important for humans to explore space, or is it important?

Additions/Modifications to instruction:

Activity:	AstroCamp Staff has done the reconnaissance for the students. The landing	site has been determined and there is no need for discussion about where to	land the rover and why.

Separate the students into two groups.

Have the students decide who will take each of the following roles:

Commander- Responsible for the overall success of the mission. Roles

include overseeing other team members, aiding the decision-making	process, problem solving, general organizational duties.

Communications- Responsible for all computer communications between	the rover. Report to commander any communication issues. Report on

progress of each communication to and from the rover.

Cartography(2)- Responsible for mapping each movement of the rover on a	map to ensure accuracy of movements over the terrain.

Record Keeper - Responsible for recording each command typed by	communications. It is important for the team to match commands with	pictures, in case unknown/wanted images arise, and to keep team organized	as they complete their mission. Use the attached chart to record commands.

Telemetry- Responsible for determination of orientation of rover upon	initial contact. It will be important to know which direction the rover is	facing when the first pictures are sent back. Telemetry will be evaluating

the pictures and discussing the results with the team. Aid Cartography

upon completion of initial duties.

Once the students have determined who will be in what leadership position,

give them a map of the area that was taken on a previous mission. (The map	is an areal view of the courtyard between Physical and Biological Sciences	buildings. An electronic copy can be found in Matt Bryant’s directory.	The scale on the map is 1cm=10m)

Give the groups a mission to complete with various components. This could	be as simple as find a green rock, to as complicated as find evidence of	flowing water by locating and identifying specific rocks, geologic signifiers,	etc. Successful missions were those in which students were shown the	object (figurines from “Hitch Hiker’s Guide”) and then had to find the	object somewhere in the exploration area.

Once the groups understand their missions, rovers can be set out in the	exploration area. Some ways to make this easy is to set it away from the	planters or walls of the buildings, so that students can easily turn the rover a	nd see all of the surroundings clearly. To make it harder, set the rover in an	area that may be hard to determine based on the digital pictures they will	receive.

(Optional)

While the rovers are being placed, play a video of the Mars Odyssey Launch	taken from (http://faculty.rmwc.edu/tmichalik/astmovie.htm). This will get	students' creativity and imaginations flowing.

The rovers should be placed and the electronics, web connections, and	mission objectives prepared. Communication from	the rovers can be	received by taking a picture to determine telemetry. At this point the student	responsible for telemetry should be at the computer determining what the	orientation of the rover is. Communication with the cartography student(s)	is vital to ensuring proper mapping later in the mission. Communication	should be relaying all commands typed into the computer to the record	keeper. Overall, each team member should be playing their part to ensure a	successful mission.

At this point the mission objectives should be addressed and supervisors	should be prepared to help with any technology questions that may arise.	Minimal guidance should be given in accomplishing mission objectives, but	any aid in map reading, angles, direction, or math issues can be given if	mission success is threatened. Redirection is critical during this time period	as all team members are needed to successfully accomplish the mission in	the given time.

The objective is to complete the mission in the given time. It is not a race,	but a finish that is important.

Additions/Modifications to Activity:

This activity can not be successful without understanding angles and map s	caling. Be sure to review with students how to measure meters on the map.	Run students through measurement exercises. e.g. Predict how wide or long	the computer lab is. Write students’ estimates on the board, then have two s	tudents help you measure the lab. How close were the estimates? How	wide is the hallway? Are predictions correct?

The second activity needs to center on angles. Stand at the front of the	classroom facing students. Explain that you can only see the computers and	people in the room. Now ask students to direct you to look at the	chalkboard by commanding you to move a certain direction so many angles.	Did students ask you to turn right/left 180 degrees? What would the	instructor face is he/she turned 45 degrees to the right/left?

Guide students through these easy exercises as this will prepare them for	directing the rover.

Teaching Strategy: Collaborative Learning Model (Constructivism)

Strengths:	The teaching strategy used here is collaborative learning. This strategy

allows students to act as experts within a given area, teach their peers what	is required to perform the mission, cooperate in an atmosphere of learning,	contribute positively to the success of the mission, and act as a team member

within the construct. This gives each student a sense of belonging, a sense

of usefulness, a sense of influence and a sense of competence. Ultimately,

each student should feel a sense of responsibility to each other member of

the group to achieve mission parameters. This is constructivist so of course	it is hands on minds on, student driven and student centered.

Weaknesses:

It is very important to monitor the progress of each group during the initial	stages as some personalities tend to dominate while others tend to be	dominated. It is not in the best interest of any group to allow one student to	make all of the decisions. Each team member is responsible for the job	title given to them. Ensuring that the Commander is aware of this is	essential to the success of the mission and the learning experience of the	other team members. It would be ideal for teams to me no more than 3	students.

Created by Chad Sharpe, University of Wyoming AstroCamp, June 2005

Modified by Michelle Miller, University of Wyoming AstroCamp, June 2006

Rover Command Record

Command Picture	Camera Motion Rover Turning Rover Moving

#	# Default, Point up return ,	# of Degrees	# of meters

or Point down return left or right forward or backward

2005-06-15T13:44:28