NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover will attempt to land on the red planet this Thursday, February 18th at approximately 3:55 pm EST. According to NASA, the rover’s mission is to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for a possible return to Earth.
But Perseverance will not be alone in this mission! The rover is also carrying a helicopter named Ingenuity, which is the first aircraft to attempt powered, controlled flight on another planet.
Celebrate this historic moment in space exploration and learn all about the red planet with Engineering Challenges, Super Simple Science activities, Career Profiles, and more!
Explore TCI Resources
Engineering Challenge Landing on Mars: In this Engineering Challenge, from our Bring Science Alive! Space program, students work together to design the landing mechanism of a spacecraft landing on Mars.
Sign in to your TCI account to explore this challenge.
Super Simple Science Activity – Your Mission to Explore Other Planets: Take your students on a fun mission to explore other planets in Bring Science Alive! Exploring Science Practices Grade 5 program.
Sign in to your TCI account to explore this Super Simple Science activity.
Career Profiles: From Systems Engineers and Robotics Engineers to Computer Scientists, it takes all kinds of skilled people to successfully design, build, and launch a rover into space.
Sign in to your TCI account to explore various career profiles.
Explore Resources from NASA
- Organize your own virtual party and watch the landing live on NASA’s website.
- Connect Students to #CountdownToMars with NASA’s STEM toolkit.
