MISSION TO MARS

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/biomed/marsdome/

Is it possible for humans to survive on Mars? With concerns over global

warming and over population on the rise, NASA and other scientists from
around the world have begun to explore this question with increased vigor.
However, relocating to Mars is not a simple task and a great deal of information
must be gathered before we can even consider it as a possibility. During the
next three weeks, you are going to help mankind take a giant step in this
information gathering process by construction a rover that has a wide array of
remote sensing capabilities and sending it to the red planet to collect data.
Developed by Rick Dustin-Eichler
rde@wcsu.net
MISSION GUIDE

Assignment 1--ENTRY, DESCENT, LANDING

The decent to the red planet is treacherous. In this assignment you will design and
build a rover that can survive this hazardous journey.

Assignment 2--CONTROLLING YOUR ROVER

For this assignment you will program a rover that has the ability to autonomously
navigate through the harsh Martian environment.

Assignment 3--MAPPING MARS

Assignment three will require you to map Mars’s surface.

Assignment 4--LOOKING FOR WATER

During this assignment, you will use your rovers light sensor to analyze Mars’s
geological make-up.

Assignment 5--RETRIEVING SAMPLES

In this final assignment, you will program your rover to collect soil samples and
return them to base.
 ENTRY, DESCENT, LANDING
Assignment 1
Problem: Landing on the Martian surface is extremely treacherous. To
safely land, your rover will have to survive speeds in excess of 12,000 miles
per hour, temperatures of 26370 F, and a four story free fall.

To watch a video on how NASA solved this problem go to http://

marsrover.nasa.gov/gallery/video/challenges.html and watch the complete
video on EDL.

Requirements: Use the engineering process to design and build a model

rover that will survive a 25 centimeter free fall. Your rover must have two
motors, two wheels, and incorporate the NXT brick into its design.

What is the problem?

Engineering Process

Does it work? What are the

requirements?

Build
What is the plan?

http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/mission/tl_entry1.html
 TIPS FOR STRONG BUILDING

When possible use axles,

bushings, and connector
pegs to connect pieces.

Use bracing to
reinforce your
building.

Gears can be used to

move multiple wheels
with one motor.

Attach beams to the

sides of your NXT
and build off them.
 CONTROLLING YOUR ROVER
Assignment 2

Because the distance from Earth to Mars is so great (55 and 100 million km),
the Mars rovers cannot be controlled remotely. A successful rover must be
able to navigate the Martian landscape autonomously (on its own). Over
the course of this assignment you will...
Wait For Time
Learn to use time to control your rover’s movements,

Control your car with the rotation sensor.

Wait For Touch

Wait For Darker

Wait For Rotation

http://www.educatec.ch/

Wait
Wait For
For Rotation
Temperature http://www.sulinet.hu/inform/balazscikk/legorobot/rcxerz.jpg
 WAIT FOR TIME
Problem: Program your rover to move a set distance using the wait for time icon.

Requirements: Use your rover from assignment 1 to solve this problem.

Procedure:

1. Open Lego Mindstorms by clicking on the icon.

2. Title your program and press go.

3. In the common pallet drag down the move icon.

4. With your move icon is

selected, check the ports in
which your motors are
connected. Then set the
duration of time that you
want your rover to move for.
In this case, tell it to move
for 3 seconds.

5. Plug your rover in and download the program to you NXT by pressing the
download button.

6. Run your rover, measure the distance that it moves and record the data in the
chart on the next page.

7. Reprogram you rover to run for 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds and 6 seconds and enter
the distance that it travels into the following chart after each time.
 WAIT FOR TIME-DATA
Enter your data from the step 13 into the following table.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

1 Second

2 Seconds

3 Seconds

4 Seconds

5 Seconds

6 Seconds

Graph your averaged data below.

(Remember to title the graph and label each axis.)
 WAIT FOR TIME-ANALYSIS
Please use the data that you collected to fill in the following chart.

Distance Time

10 cm

20 cm

30 cm

50 cm

80 cm

1m

1.5 m

3m

10 m

Use the following area as a work space.

 WAIT FOR ROTATION
Problem: Program your rover to move a set distance using the wait for rotation icon.

Requirements: Use your rover from assignment 1 to solve this problem.

Procedure:

1. Open Mindstorms.

2. Once your project opens, create a new program called wait for rotation.

3. Program your rover to move forward

for 1 rotation. This is similar to the
last problem, except you are going to
change the duration to read 1
rotation instead of 1 second.

4. Now run your rover three times, measure the distance that it travels each time, and enter the data into the
following data table.

5. Reprogram you rover to run for, 2 full rotations, 4 full rotations, 5 full rotations, 10 full rotations, and 20 full
rotations and repeat step 4 for each trial.
 WAIT FOR ROTATION-DATA
Enter your data from the step 13 into the following table.

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

1 Full Rotation

2 Full Rotations

4 Full Rotations

5 Full Rotations

10 Full Rotations

20 Full Rotations

Graph your averaged data below.

(Remember to title the graph and label each axis.)
WAIT FOR ROTATION-ANALYSIS
Please use the data that you collected to fill in the following chart.

Distance Rotations

10 cm

20 cm

30 cm

50 cm

80 cm

1m

1.5 m

3m

10 m

Use the following area as a work space.

 SPEEDY EXPRESSIONS GRAPHING ROTATIONS
Assignment 3
Story: Imagine a bright and sunny sol on Mars and your rover is traveling at a good clip when all of a sudden it
mistakenly falls into a deep crater and slams to a stop at the bottom. After stopping for a moment, it slowly
climbs out of the crater and continues on at a more cautious rate of speed.

Now, think back to the story that we just read and create a graph that expresses the roverʼs speed.
 SPEEDY EXPRESSIONS GRAPHING ROTATIONS
Explore: Now, you are going to start exploring how your NXT can be used to collect data. To get started...

Open Data Logging

Start a new experiment called “speedy”

Configure the experiment so that the

duration is 30 seconds, the sample rate is
10 samples per second, and tell the
computer in which port your rotation
sensors (NXT motors) are attached.

Press the play button and start turning the wheels WITHOUT detaching the rover from your computer.
Watch the screen and see what happens.

Challenge: Use the prediction tool to draw a line of data on the graph. Once you have done this, rerun the
experiment and try to copy your prediction line.
SPEEDY EXPRESSIONS GRAPHING ROTATIONS
Please use this graph to answer the following questions.

1. What does the X-axis represent?___________________________________________

2. What does the Y-axis represent?___________________________________________

3. What happens when you turn the wheel quickly?

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4. What happens when you turn the wheel slowly?
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5. What happens when you do not turn the wheel?
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6. Look back at the story that we started this lesson with and try to create a graph that shows the
roverʼs motion. Once you are done, print the graph and staple it to this page. How does this
graph compare to the one that you created at the beginning of the lesson?

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 MAPPING MARS
Assignment 4

Problem: In addition to driving around and collecting specimens, your rover must collect numerical data and
send it back to NASA. For your first data collection assignment, you must write a program, collect data with
the rotation sensor, and use that data to map your classroom.

How to program your rover:

1.Open Data Logging and create a new experiment called Mapping Mars.

2. Configure the experiment to collect rotational data at a

sample rate of 10 samples per seconds for 60 seconds.

3. Go to tools and “create data logging program.” A screen

should open with a red and grey data logging brick in it.

4.Select the data logging

brick and uncheck the wait
for completion box.

5. Add a move brick after

the data logging brick
and program it to run for
60 seconds at power level
30.

6. Download your program and run your rover down a long hall.
 MAPPING MARS CONTINUED
7.To look at your data, go back to the Data Logging window and press the Upload
From NXT Button.

8.Select the most recent log and upload it.

9. Use your graph to figure out how far your rover traveled.

Explain how you answered this question. Then check your answer by measuring how far your
rover actually traveled.
 MAPPING MARS CONTINUED
Challenge
Use the information that you learned in the first part of this assignment to write a program that the rover can
use to measure the dimensions of your classroom. Hint: You can measure each distance individually.

In the space below, draw a map of your classroom. Please be sure to use a ruler and label its
dimensions.

Please explain the process that you used to create your map.
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Background: Sedimentary
LOOKING FOR WATER
Rocks--Sedimentary rocks are Assignment 4
formed at the surface of the
Earth, either in water or on
land. They are layered Exploration: During this exploration you are going to find the mean light
accumulations of sediments: reflection rate for a series of rocks that are found on Mars.
fragments of rocks, minerals,
or animal or plant material. Procedure
Temperatures and pressures 1.Mount a light sensor on your rover so it is no more than .5 cm above the ground.
are low at the Earth's surface,
and sedimentary rocks show 2.Create a new experiment called “Rocks.”
this fact by their appearance
and the minerals they contain. 3.Using your rotation sensor experiment as a model, create a new program that
Most sedimentary rocks will collect light data only. You rover does not have to move! The rover should
become cemented together collect samples for 3 seconds at a sample rate of 10 samples per seconds.
by minerals and chemicals or
are held together by electrical 4.Run your program while your rover is still connected to the computer. As the
attraction; some, however, program runs, place the light sensor over different colored objects. What
remain loose and happens to the data as this happens?
unconsolidated. The layers are
normally parallel or nearly 5.Now run the program again but this time place it on one “rock type” and leave it
parallel to the Earth's surface; if there. After you collect data for each rock type, rename its data line so that the
they are at high angles to the name corresponds to the color that it was on (you might also want to change the
surface or are twisted or color).
broken, some kind of Earth
movement has occurred since 6.After you are done, enter the average light
the rock was formed. reading for each “rock type” in the following
Sedimentary rocks are chart.
forming around us all the time.
Sand and gravel on beaches
or in river bars look like the
sandstone and conglomerate
they will become. Compacted
and dried mud flats harden
into shale. Scuba divers who
Please record the light values for each of the different rock types in
have seen mud and shells
the following chart.
settling on the floors of
lagoons find it easy to
understand how sedimentary Rock Type Average Light Reading
rocks form.
White

For more information go Grey

to the following website.
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/ Black
fellow1/oct98/create/
sediment.htm
 LOOKING FOR WATER

Problem: If humans are going to colonize Mars, they need to find a reliable and renewable water source.
One way to discover if there is or ever was water on Mars is to look for sedimentary rocks. In this assignment,
you will create a rover that will use its light and rotation sensors to find sedimentary rocks and map where they
are located.

Requirements: Add a light sensor to your rover. The light sensor must be securely fastened to your rover
and located approximately .5 cm off of the ground.

Procedure:
1.Modify the experiment that you ran in the last lesson to include rotational data. To do
this click on the data logging brick at the top left hand corner of the screen.

2. Create a data logging program (this is under the tools menu) that collects data while
moving forward. The program needs to move the rover forward so that it travels over all of
the rock layers. Hint: Remember to uncheck the wait for completion box under the data
logging brick. Also, you should make your rover moves as slow as possible.

3.Upload your program and run your rover on the practice rock layers. Can you figure out the order of the
rocks or how far they are from the start line?

Please list the order of the rock layers and explain how you found this information.
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How far away from base was each rock layer? How did you discover this information?

Layer Distance ________________________________________

________________________________________
1
________________________________________
2 ________________________________________
________________________________________
3
________________________________________
4 ________________________________________
 LOOKING FOR WATER

Challenge: When scientists use robots and other tools to collect data remotely, they often do not have the
benefit of seeing the place where the data is collected. All they know about the world that they are exploring is
the data that they are receiving. To simulate this, give your rover to your partner and have them run it on the
remote Martian surfaced (it is located in the hallway). After they return, please upload the data, print the
graph, staple it to this page, and analyze the data.

Use the following space to map the area of Mars that your rover traveled over. Please make sure
that you label the distances from base to each rock layer.

How did you solve this challenge?

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