Audience
Educators
Grade Levels
Grades 9-12
Subject
Engineering Design, Physical Science, Space Science, Technology, Waves, Chemistry, Optics, Light, Solar System and Planets, Planetary Geology, Mars, Remote Sensing
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities
When exploring Mars using robotic rovers, we need to be creative about how we perform experiments remotely. One way to do this is using spectroscopy – the study of light. Rovers can excite samples of rocks on Mars and measure the light emitted. Then, they send that data back to Earth for further analysis.
Using known rock samples for comparison, students can do their own spectral analysis to determine what elements make up the rocks we expect rovers to find on Mars.
Click here for background information, activity procedures, discussion prompts, and answer keys.