The Phoenix Mars lander, a collaboration between the University of Arizona and NASA, was sent to Mars in 2010 to undertake the mission of understanding the polar regions of Mars and searching for signs of water. They provide educational resources pertaining to this mission. The Remote Sensing Ice on Mars activity allows students to act as scientists using different wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum to analyze the polar ice caps and look for the presence of water and other chemicals. Students will learn how the properties of light affect the types of data that can be collected and why scientists choose particular wavelengths for different tasks. Students will analyze data from different images of Mars using visible light, infrared, or gamma rays to make predictions of the composition of the ice caps. Teacher guides, slides, and extension activities are provided.Builds towards NGSS MS-PS4-2: Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
PHYSICAL SCIENCE starter activity | explorer lab | Mars Discovery Program
