Aim: To learn about Mars exploration.
1. Rover facts
2. Design, Draw and Make a Rover
3. Mars facts
1. Rover facts:
What are the 5 parts for?
Link: Rovers 5 parts
Link: Rovers 5 parts
Fill in the table below.
Name:
|
Purpose:
|
Wheels
| The Mars 2020 rover has six wheels, each with its own individual motor. The two front and two rear wheels also have individual steering motors. This steering capability allows the vehicle to turn in place, a full 360 degrees. The four-wheel steering also allows the rover to swerve and curve, making arcing turns. |
Solar Panel
| The Mars 2020 rover requires electrical power to operate. Without power, the rover cannot move, use its science instruments, or communicate with Earth. Mars 2020 carries a radioisotope power system. This power system produces a dependable flow of electricity using the heat of plutonium's radioactive decay as its "fuel." The power source is called a "Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator" or MMRTG for short. The MMRTG converts heat from the natural radioactive decay of plutonium into electricity. This power system charges the rover's two primary batteries. The heat from the MMRTG is also used to keep the rover's tools and systems at their correct operating temperatures. |
Laser
| Mars 2020's 7-foot-long robotic arm can move a lot like yours. It has a shoulder, elbow and wrist "joints" for maximum flexibility. The armlets the rover work as a human geologist would: by holding and using science tools with its "hand" or turret. The rover's own "hand tools" extract cores from rocks, take microscopic images and analyzes the elemental composition and mineral makeup of Martian rocks and soil. |
Camera
| The rover has several cameras focused on engineering and science tasks. Some help us land on Mars, while others serve as our “eyes” on the surface to drive around. We use others to do scientific observations and aid in the collection of samples. Also, there are: Engineering cameras: 9 Science cameras: 7 Entry, descent and landing cameras: 7 Total cameras: 23 |
Shovel, rock pick,drill
| The rover body is called the warm electronics box, or "WEB" for short. As a car body, the rover body is a strong, outer layer that protects the rover's computer and electronics (which are basically the equivalent of the rover's brains and heart). The rover body thus keeps the rover's vital organs protected and temperature-controlled. The warm electronics box is closed on the top by a piece called the Rover Equipment Deck. The Rover Equipment Deck makes the rover like a convertible car, allowing a place for the rover mast and cameras to sit out in the Martian air, taking pictures with a clear view of the terrain as the rover travels. |
Credit: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/rover/
2. In groups of 3 you will Design, Draw and Make a Mars Rover out of Lego Technics.
Materials:
Materials:
- Lego Technics
- A4 paper
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Eraser
The drawing and model must have:
- 6 wheels
- 1 camera
- 1 tool at the front than includes a shovel, pick and drill.
- 1 solar panel
- 1 laser that points at the ground
3. Mars Facts
Link: Facts
You will need to find out the following:
Fact
|
Earth
|
Mars
|
Picture of planet
|  |  |
Length of 1 year
| 365 days | 687 days |
Length of 1 day
| 23 hours 56 minutes | 24 hours 37 minutes |
Distance from the sun
| 149.6 million km | 227.9 million km |
Distance from Earth.
| ---- | 54.6 million km |
Gravity:
| 9.807 m/s² | 3.711 m/s² |
Colour:
| Blue and Green | Golden, Brown, Tan, and Reddish |
Temperature
| -88 to 57 C | -140 to 30 C |
| Rainfall | Average of 100cm | No Rainfall |
Atmosphere
|
|
|
Surface
|
|
|
Moons and names
|
|
|
Conclusion: Write about what you have learnt.
I learnt heaps of new information from the tables. I really like learning about space, but I didn't know that much information. It was really fun and cool to blog about this topic. I mostly learnt about the parts of the Mars 2020 rover. I was astonished by the cameras of rover Mars 2020. They have 23 cameras!!
- Mars 2020 rover has 23 cameras.
- Mars 2020 rover has 6 wheels.
- The distance of Earth and Mars is 54.6 million km.
- The gravity of Earth is 9.807 m/s².
- The gravity of Mars is 3.711 m/s².
- The temperature of Earth is from -88 to 57 C.
- The temperature of Mars is from -140 to 30 C.
- The average rainfall of Earth is 100cm.
- Most of Mars' atmosphere is carbon dioxide and some of water vapour.
- The surface size of Earth is 510.1 million km².
- The surface size of Mars is 144.8 million km².
