Elon Musk has laid out a timeline to begin building a colony on Mars.

To showcase the power of blending several subjects together through wonder and inquiry to allow students to better understand what is possible through the components of space travel. We will explore all the components of space travel — from building a space station, to training for our time in outer space, to meal planning to find answers to our driving question

• Literacy
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies
• Computer Science
• Robotics

How can humans survive on Mars? Maybe we need to take one step back and ask how we humans survive on Earth? What allows us to survive on our planet? Remember in Mars there are many challenges to consider: no oxygen, food, or readily available water; extreme cold and solar radiation and don't forget meteorites.

I am keeping this open because for the short amount of time we have we won't be able to address all projects and standards. The key here is that based on how you infuse projects and activities there are a ton of possibilities.

The focus can and should be on standards first. If LEGO EV3 can play a role to strengthen learning and engagement, then use it. But if not, then don't. It really is that simple!

We will start with structural engineering:

How can we build and design the most sustainable living habitat on this planet?

We need to consider the following elements(and maybe more)

• central command module
• medical module
• science operations module
• navigation module
• botany module

Use your LEGO EV3 Mindstorms Kits to design parts of our human habitat to surive.

**Feel free to use cardboard boxes, dowels, duct tape, Christmas lights, and zip ties, etc.

Students will create a novella, a choose your own adventure story, or animation about three generations of Mars colonists. Students will use Scratch to tell their story. Make the story interactive by programming your LEGO EV3 Mindstorms kit to be involved in the process of the story.

• Use touch sensors to make decisions for the characters
• Build a robot as part of your story and moves along with the story arc

This lesson from Google CS First provides some great ideas for storytelling with Scratch.

Students will create a create a Mars survival game where an expedition is stranded on Mars due to a devastating war on Earth and must survive on supplies they brought with them.

• Option 1: Create an obstacle course that the robot has to navigate and solve missions based on real world facts and data about life on Mars.
• Option 2: Use Scratch to develop a game and code the EV3 to be a joystick to operate the game.

• NASA 3D Print Habitat Challenge - NASA is challenging people to design housing for space travel along with recycyling systems.
• NASA Mars for Kids Fun Zone

These parts are not fully developed yet, but the following ideas could be added, mixed, and infused to this project to extend or strengthen the learning involved.

• When designing the habitats above, you could also have teams work to design the living conditions in Minecraft Education as well!
  • See Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids for an activity idea https://amzn.to/319f17o
• Build and design your very own exploratory rover out of LEGO EV3 and a GoPro. The camera is central to the design because it mimics what NASA Mission control has to deal with by controlling a robot with live stream images.
  • Extension - Have the robot become a data collection rover by collecting samples, gathering temperature readings, solar readings, etc. This can be done with sensors and more.
• Now that we have a place to live, we now need to get there! How are we going to be able to not only travel to Mars, but bring everything we need to get started?
• Build and design an actual working hydroponic garden to learn about how to grow food in soilless garden in which plants get nutrients and minerals directly from the water.
• What does it take to be an astronaut? Immerse your students through challenges to learn what is required to me able to travel in space. This link from NASA is a great place to begin learning.
• A fun bonus project would be to design a mission patch for the astronauts’ flight suits. Students can use paper, grids, computer programs, or a baseplate and simple LEGO pieces. Have fun with this project. Allow them to come up with clever names for the missson and the crew!
• Once students have designed their LEGO habitats, then have a team actually assemble a life size habitat using cardboard, MakeDos, and other readily available materials. Bring the ideas to life and allow them to immerse themselves in their ideas.
• Data logging using the solar panel, temperature sensors, and energy meter from the Science Add On Kit for science and math.

Pioneering Mars Curriculum

Building a Space Habitat in the Classroom

NASA Mission to Mars Challenge