The purpose of this project is to create a mobile Mars base that can travel for up to two weeks exploring the surface of Mars. The most important job in successfully completing this project is teamwork. Everyone on the team is a specialist in their field and has an important role to play in completing this mission.

 

Shown below are artist representations of the various mobile modules ("rovers") that will be used by the scientists and engineers to complete their mission.  Students research the requirements for these modules, then construct the rovers, which require a pressurized cylinder similar to those used by commercial aircraft to keep the crew at Earth’s atmospheric pressure. This eliminates the need for mission participants to be in space suits while living and working in each rover.

 

To simulate the pressurized cylinder students use a 2-liter bottle. It is the right shape and scale for this project.  Foam board, balsa wood and poster board are used for construction. The two major constraints faced by students is space and weight. Space is controlled by the interior of the pressurized hull and weight is controlled by using a limited amount of materials.  Students must stay within their materials budget and within the weight limits to successfully complete their missions.