Skip To Main Content

Destination Mars

Destination Mars Program Logo

 

Researchers are ready to explore Mars, but there’s one glaring problem – more than 40 million miles separate Earth from Mars. Students will go on a mission to analyze data and determine which of the Red Planet's moons is the best location for building a research base.

Book Your Destination Mars Adventure

  • Designed for students in grades 5-6 and and aligned to national education standards
  • 1-hour experience delivered from start to finish by a Flight Director
  • Features small group and whole class activities
  • Students need a device with audio and video capability and an internet connection
  • No handouts or supplies needed
  • Targeted grades for Destination Mars: Grades 5-8
     
  • Number of students: Up to 30
     
  • This mission is an excellent stand-alone experience. It is also a great companion experience for students who participate in the Expedition Mars in-person mission.
  • Price: $150
     
  • Length of Program: Approximately one hour
    In addition, a 15-minute pre-mission conference with the instructor and teacher to make sure all technology is ready for the mission.

The Mission

The Mission: Researchers are ready to explore Mars, but there’s one glaring problem – more than 40 million miles separate Earth from the Red Planet. This distance makes it impossible to travel back and forth between the two planets while completing our research. We need to build a base on one of the Red Planet’s moons, Deimos or Phobos, that will allow us to send a spacecraft to the surface of Mars and back in the fastest and safest way possible. Student teams will select which moon is best to build a base by analyzing three sets of data collected by rovers on Deimos and Phobos.

The team’s research efforts come to a halt when they encounter a critical emergency – a solar storm approaches and all communication signals are lost. To successfully explore Mars’ moons and complete the mission, the students must work together to protect the rovers and restore communication, analyze the data from their experiments, and select a moon to build a base.

Destination Mars Teacher Resources