Exploring Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory is the greatest mission to ever explore another world. It probes the Red Planet’s ferocious past, uncovers its mysterious present and, through the search for life, it may be a precursor to future manned missions

Age Range: 15 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Jonathan O’Callaghan

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine is all about exploring Mars. The article starts by summarises some of the most ambitious robotic missions to date. Then, it covers the history of the robotic missions to the Red Planet, and details how the Mars Scientific Laboratory (MSL) is currently working towards uncovering the greatest unanswered questions about Mars.

Resources

Explorer’s Guide to Mars

Mars is a fascinating place to explore due to its amazing geology and potential for ancient life. If you’re headed there any time soon, don’t forget this explorer’s guide!

Age Range: 10 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

This 5-page feature from All About Space magazine is an explorers guide to Mars. It considers everything an explorer would need to know: How far away is Mars, and how might you get there? What are the top sights to see on Mars and what are the key facts and figures you might need to know?

Resources

Destination Mars

With private space enterprises and NASA planning manned missions to Mars in the coming years, All About Space discovers how the world’s leading space explorers will take the first humans to the Red Planet.

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Gemma Lavender

This 11-page feature from All About Space magazine explores both the past and the future of Mars exploration. After the history of our exploration of the Red Planet is laid out, the article turns to the reasons for the race to carry out manned-missions to Mars, and the leading candidates who might achieve it.

Resources

Curiosity: The First 12 Months

In August 2012, the most ambitious robotic vehicle ever devised to date landed on Mars on a mission to probe the Red Planet for signs of past and present habitability. We spoke to the team’s deputy project scientist one year after about Curiosity’s accomplishments at that point, and what they hoped it would be doing in the years that followed.

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Jonathan O’Callaghan

This 7-page feature from All About Space magazine gives an insight into the first year that Curiosity spent on Mars. Diagrams and full colour images detail it’s progress against the mission objectives, and the key instruments it required to accomplish them.

Resources

All About Mars

The fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest, the red and varied landscape of this once Earth-like planet has fascinated humanity since we first viewed it in the night sky. All About Space explores just why this planet holds such allure.

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Shanna Freeman

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine goes in-depth into the features of Mars. With full colour images, this article details the structure, atmosphere and geographical features of Mars – and much more!

Resources

Mars: 25 Amazing Discoveries

It is over 50 years since the first spacecraft flew past Mars and, in that time, we
have learnt a huge amount about our mysterious red neighbour

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Laura Mears

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine explores 25 Amazing Discoveries on Mars including it’s ancient waterways and the many dangers of exploration.

Resources

Mars: 14 Years of Discoveries

Designed to last 90 days, Opportunity survived for over a decade on Mars. Here
we look back on how the record-breaking rover changed the way we see the Red Planet.

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

This 9-page feature from All About Space magazine explores the objectives and explorations of Opportunity through the 5353 Sols it spent on Mars.

Resources

10 Wonders of Mars

First time on Mars? Join us as we tour some of the biggest, strangest
and most fascinating wonders the Red Planet has to behold!

Age Range: 14 years +
Prep. Time: 0 mins
Lesson Time: N/A
Cost per activity: N/A
Includes the use of: PDF Reader or colour printing

Author: Ben Biggs and Giles Sparrow

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine explores 10 Wonders of Mars including the ‘Grand Canyon of Mars’ Valles Marineris, super volcano Olympus Mons, and crater Hellas Planitia – which is so big it is visible from Earth!

Resources

How to identify a meteorite?

Did you find a curious looking rock? With the help of these instructions you can investigate if it could be a meteorite (or a meteowrong!). You can also go outdoors and pick any rock for investigation. Or how about hunting micrometeorites?

This material is also available in:

Keywords: meteorite, micrometeorite, small solar system bodies