5 min. Introduction
10 min. Interpreting Data
15 min. Analyzing Site
10 min. Reflect
40 min. Total
The Educator Guide has a script, materials list, and prep directions. Be sure to have it open and ready to help guide you through every activity.
- If you have not already completed the prep for Science Series Activity 1, please refer to the S 1 card for preparation.
- Revisit the PLANETS Science Series guide if its been a week or more since you completed Science Series Activity 1.
- For this activity you will need Science Notebooks for each youth, plus Data Packets and Landing Ellipses for each group.
Provides opportunities for youth to compare topographic features of four potential landing sites.
Consider teaching about contour lines by tracing the layers of the moonscape from World's Apart Activity 4 and creating a topo map. Additionally, the pages of a thick paperback book can be manipulated to show a steep or shallow slope where every page edge is a contour line.
Videos Related to this Activity
Science Snippet: Build your content knowledge to help answer youth's questions.
End of Activity Science Reflection
Today we investigated topographic maps created with LiDAR. These reveal the shape and height of landforms.
Key Take Away
We can use topographic maps created with remote sensing technology (LiDAR) to determine the shape and the height of terrain on Mars.
Did you know?
Contour lines never cross, unless there is an overhanging cliff large enough to appear on a topogrpahic map.