Space Challenge – Get Ready
What does it take to go to Mars?
People have long been fascinated by Mars, the planet in our solar system that is most like Earth. Uncrewed missions have sent orbiters, probes and rovers to explore the planet since the 1960s, but what would it take to carry out a successful human mission to Mars?
Come up with a plan!
Think about these questions and answer them in your work book:
- What’s needed to support human life on Mars?
- How can robots help humans explore Mars?
- What could we learn from going to Mars?
- How could a space crew on Mars communicate with a mission control centre on Earth?
Which missions will you try and in which order?
- Communications Station
- Satellite
- Flight Crew
- Crater MSL Robot
- Rock Samples
- Solar Panel
- Rocket and Launcher – Mars Outpost
How could a robot interact with the different models on the Challenge Mat during a mission?
What are some ways in which you could use features of the Challenge Mat to help you navigate?
Space Challenge Objective
The objective of the Space Challenge is to complete as many successful missions as possible before launching the rocket to the Mars Outpost in the final mission. Each mission comes with an objective and its own particular set of rules but there are five overall rules you should know before you start:
- Complete as many missions as you can.
- You decide the order you attempt the missions in.
- You can try each mission more than once.
- The Initiate Launch mission is the final mission and ends the Space Challenge.
- The teacher decides which achievement badges you’ll be awarded.