The Red Planet

By Gail Junion-Metz -- School Library Journal, 5/1/1997

This Fourth of July, besides enjoying the usual fireworks and parades, people will be thinking about space, distant worlds, maybe even alien life forms. It won't be because of last summer's hit movie Independence Day, but because NASA's Pathfinder landing craft will set down on Mars and deploy a robot vehicle named Sojourner. The robot will start to explore the red planet's surface and send pictures and data back to earth.

Remember how exciting it was to see men walk on the moon and plant the U.S. flag on its surface? Most of your students can relate to that only as an ad for MTV. Pathfinder's landing is their chance to experience the thrill of reaching and exploring a new world. Thanks to the Net they'll be able to do so in new ways. Here are some Web sites to help you bring Pathfinder's landing to life for your kids.

Pathfinder Central

NASA's Mars Pathfinder Home Page is duplicated on nine Web servers around the globe. (There are already so many people interested in the Mars mission that it takes multiple servers to handle all the traffic.) From Pathfinder's home page you can get the latest mission news; access the keyword-searchable "Whole Mars Catalog," and learn about the Sojourner rover and its anticipated journey. You can join a listserv to get mission reports sent to you regularly via e-mail, or download instructions for building a model of the Pathfinder spacecraft.

Visit NASA's Center for Mars Exploration for recent media stories (such as life on Mars), Mars missions -- past, present, future -- and free CD-ROMs, publications, and software.

If you use AfterDark screen saver software, visit NASA's Mars Exploration Program Web site to download free screen savers showing Sojourner making its way around the Mars landscape or zooming in on the Pathfinder landing site (available for both Windows and Mac).

Making Mars Come Alive

Even though Pathfinder won't land until the summer, there are lots of related activities on the Web now. Check out the Live from Mars project Web site for information about live video broadcasts and an e-mail link for kids to ask NASA experts questions. You can find a curriculum guide in the "Teachers Lounge" as well as a listserv for participating educators. Check out the "Kids Corner" for simple activities and an online art gallery.

Live from Earth & Mars contains lots of information about Mars and wonderfully creative educational modules. (I especially liked "Way Cool Tools for Mars Exploration.") NASA Spacelink contains links to lesson plans and activities related to Mars and space in general. Spacelink started out in Gopher format and has not been completely converted to a true Web site. This makes figuring out how to navigate it challenging. But stick with it: the great materials you'll find there are well worth the effort.

One more site worth mentioning is the Challenger Center Online. It contains some of the more comprehensive and just plain fun Mars projects I've seen.

More Than Just Mars

Pathfinder is sure to get kids interested in space and astronomy in general. Here are two sites worth taking a look at. StarChild is designed for young astronomy fans, with text written for different reading levels. Check out the simple glossary and the fun, kid-friendly questions that accompany many of the sections. The Nine Planets Web site is a multimedia tour of the solar system. It contains lots of pictures and videos of the planets, their moons, and great information on comets and the sun.

Web Addresses