The Mission to Mars curricular unit introduces students to Mars the Red Planet. Students discover why scientists are so interested in studying this mysterious planet. Many interesting facts about Mars are revealed, and the history of Martian exploration is reviewed. Students will learn about the development of robotics and how robots are beneficial to science, society and the exploration of space. Details on engineers' involvement in space exploration are presented. Furthermore, students will learn how orbits allow astronauts to move from planet to planet and what type of equipment is used by scientists and engineers to safely explore space. Lastly, the specific details on and human risks for a possible future manned mission to Mars (and back to Earth again!) are discussed.

Video description:  Join NASA to learn more about solar eclipses, especially the awe-inspiring phenomenon of total eclipses. Find out about the unique geometry and the distances and sizes of the sun and moon as seen from Earth that allow us to witness the sun's corona or actually be in the path of totality.  Video length:  7:15. NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Launchpad videos focus on NASA innovations and the technology that take us into the future.  These segments support project-based and problem-based learning experiences in science, mathematics, and career and technical education classrooms.

Video Description:  Learn about the global cooperation to build the International Space Station, or ISS. Use a simple scale model to demonstrate the amazing mathematical relationship between the Earth and moon and see how the low-Earth orbit of ISS compares.  Video Length:  5:57.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Our World videos (grades 3-5) help students understand the differences between science (the natural world) and engineering (the designed world).  These video segments supplement elementary learning objectives not only in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but also in reading, writing, visual and performing arts.

Video Description:  Picture this. NASA sends a spacecraft to land on an asteroid, grab a piece of that asteroid, and then send that sample back to Earth to study. Learn more about all that NASA can learn about the formation of the Solar System from the close encounter of OSIRIS-REx with near-Earth asteroid Bennu.  Video Length:  3:55.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

Video Description:  Satellites are expensive to build and expensive to get into space. With all the changes in technology, is there a way to make satellites smaller? Find out just what NASA can pack into a 1U CubeSat, a satellite small enough to fit in your hand.  Video Description:  3:24.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.   

Video Description:  CubeSats are changing the way we collect information. They may be small, but these little satellites are helping us answer big questions. And using a swarm of CubeSats can give us simultaneous measurements without repeatedly sending commands to the satellite to tell it what to do.Video Length:  2:21.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

Video Description:  Volcanoes play a role in how Earth looks today. Thanks to NASA's missions, we know more about volcanoes in our solar system. Studying volcanoes can teach us about the interior properties of the planets and moons. Learn how the slope equation is used to identify how a volcano was formed.  Video Length:  4:46.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

Video Description:  Paul Chodas, Manager for NASA's Near Earth Object Program, explains Astronomical Units (AUs) and how this unit of measure helps simplify an understanding of distances within the solar system. To further simplify thinking about these vast distances, distances within the solar system are explained scaled to the size of a football field.  Video Length:  2:25.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

Video Description:  In addition to planets and their moons, there are many small bodies orbiting the Sun. How did these bodies form? Learn more about comets and asteroids and the role these play in our Solar System, as well as NASA's Rosetta and NEOWISE missions.  Video Length:  3:09.NASA eClipsTM is a suite of online student-centered, standards-based resources that support instruction by increasing STEM literacy in formal and nonformal settings.  These free digital and downloadable resources inform and engage students through NASA-inspired, real-world connections.NASA eClips Real World segments (grades 6-8) connect classroom mathematics to 21st Century careers and innovations.  They are designed for students to develop an appreciation for mathematics through real-world problem solving.

In this lesson students will be able to identify that computers, like the solar system, complete predictable actions based on a set of variables. Students will learn about the solar system via Scratch.  They will explore block coding and computational thinking practices as they utilize Scratch as a tool for creativity, expression and learning about the Solar System. 

This lesson includes activites at all stages of the 5E model.  When possible multiple options were provided at each stage. Cover Image: "solar system" by Philippe Put is licensed under CC BY 2.0

This lesson is part of the Virginia K-12 Computer Science Pipeline which is partly funded through a GO Virginia grant in partnership with Chesapeake Public Schools, Loudoun County Public Schools, and the Loudoun Education Foundation.  During this lesson, students will create a timeline of space exploration.