Mars Rover Mission
- 5th Grade -
The Challenge!
We challenge you to develop a lander system that will safely land a rover in the landing zone.
Challenge Constraints
You must choose a student rover to design a parachute for and actually test it!
Develop a parachute system to safely lower the rover.
Hitting a the landing zone is an incredibly important part of any mission. You are required to hit the landing zone provided.
You are restricted to using only the materials provided.
You are required to plan ahead. Draw out your design before you start building.
You are required to test, edit your design and then test again.
Student Skills In Focus
Learning Goals
Students will:
Use the Engineering Design Process to explore solutions to a problem.
Use the challenge to develop the Pillar Skills in focus.
Questions To Ask Students:
What are different parachute designs that you could use? Try to come up with at least 3. The challenge is to think "differently."
What designs will best fit the characteristics of the rover you choose to land?
During testing, observe carefully. What seems to have gone well and not so well?
When testing, can you find the failure point and use it to build a better parachute?
Essential Questions:
How does engaging in the engineering and design process help solve the problem?
What features of a design solution allow for it to best meet the needs criteria?
How can fair tests be run in which variables are controlled and failure points considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved?
What features of a solution best allow it to meet the criteria and constraints of a problem?
NJ Student Learning Standards:
• 8.2.5.ED.2: Collaborate with peers to collect information, brainstorm to solve a problem, and evaluate all possible solutions to provide the best results with supporting sketches or models.
• 8.2.5.ED.4: Explain factors that influence the development and function of products and systems (e.g., resources, criteria, desired features, constraints).
• 8.2.5.ED.5: Describe how specifications and limitations impact the engineering design process.
• 8.2.5.ED.6: Evaluate and test alternative solutions to a problem using the constraints and trade offs identified in the design process.
• 3-5-ETS1-1 Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
• 3-5-ETS1-2 Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• 3-5-ETS1-3 Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.