What does it take to land a large rover on the surface of Mars? Video explains the challenges including the distance and size. Then it focuses on the process of going from hurtling through space to slowing down enough to survive the landing. The video ends with how the rover will land in a specific spot without stirring up enough dust to ruin the mission.

Concepts

nasa, mars, mars rover

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Challenge learners to do the egg drop experiment, but it must have at least a two-step process to slow it down, much like the rover had a multi-step process
• Look up what the Curiosity Rover is doing now and any major discoveries it has made in the last few years

Classroom Considerations

• Remember to preview any comments that might appear when you show the video, as some are insulting

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• High-quality animation provided by NASA
• Provides closed captioning for ELLs

Cons

• None