Heather Brown1, Tad Duffy2, Tom Grace3, Loren Hennick3, Larry Smith3, Danika Le Duc4

1
How can human life be sustained on Mars?
Heather Brown1, Tad Duffy2, Tom Grace3, Loren
Hennick3, Larry Smith3, Danika Le Duc4 1.
Hillview Middle School 2. Clayton Valley High
School 3. Arroyo High School 4. California
State Univeristy, East Bay

• Key Lessons and Activities
• Engagement We will use NASA imagery to engage
  students to research the best locations on Mars
  for settlement, water/food, materials and energy
  resources. Students will research the
  colonization infrastructural challenges of
  differing gravitation, atmosphere, chemical
  composition and radiation conditions compared to
  earth.
• Exploration Student teams will research and
  collaborate in class, the library and outside of
  class on their group paper and PowerPoint
  presentation using NASA and other resources.
  Within each group, students will select which
  subtopic to research and present.
• Explanation We will present a variety of ways
  students can access the curriculum and practice
  process skills.
• Project-Based Inquiry Model Building the
  Periodic Table activity
• Inquiry Model Water filtration experiment
• Radiation challenge NASA video provide note
• taking template
• Bringing Mars into the Iron Age article use
• Directed Reading and Thinking Activity (DRTA)
• Classification of Chemical Substances lab
  front loaded vocabulary
• Elaboration
• We will challenge students within each subgroup
  to assemble and determine which site best fits
  one of the four needs for human settlement on
  Mars based on NASA resources.
• Evaluation
• Each subgroup will present their rationale in
  front of class for a specific site best suited
  for their resource development using notes
  templates. The class will vote on the best
  overall location for the colonys

• Research-Based Instructional Strategies
• Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI)
• Project-Based Learning
• Cooperative Learning
• Think-Pair-Share
• Anticipatory Reading
• Graphic Organizer
• Lab work written
• reports using vocabulary
• front loading (Inquiry/Investigation/Experimentati
  on)
• Daily Formative Assessment
• Capstone Project/Investigation and Assessments
• Students will create a group research paper and a
  PowerPoint presentation based on classroom
  activities and their individual and team
  research. PowerPoint presentations will be
  individually evaluated by peers and teacher. In
  addition CSUEB faculty may observe and act as an
  authentic audience participant.
• Implementation Plan and Next Steps
• Starting in Fall 2010
• Finalize scoring guides, time lines,
  manipulatives, and assessment tools
• Discuss possible cross curricular activity with
  English Department.

Essential Question/Problem

• Scientific Investigation
• The specific societal needs that must be
  addressed for long term Mars colonization and to
  answer the generative question are
• How will enough water be found and food grown to
  sustain the population?
• What type of shelters and space suits will be
  needed to protect the inhabitants from adverse
  atmospheric conditions?
• What materials are available for construction?
• What energy resources are abundant enough to be
  exploited for human needs?

Earth is quickly becoming uninhabitable. Our
planet is suffering from multiple problems
overpopulation, mass starvation, wars, food/water
and energy shortages, pollution, catastrophic
weather, and economic distress. As a result, a
small human colony will be established on Mars to
determine large scale feasibility.
The four major needs for human settlement are
food, shelter, materials and energy.
This image shows clouds and the Northern polar
cap on Mars. The Martian ice caps contain both
water ice and frozen CO2 and expand and contract
with the Martian seasons. Source NASA Mars
Global Surveyor
Learning Objectives (CA Sci. Standards) Grades 10
- 12 Chemistry 1 a, b, c, d 2a, d, e 3 a,
d, e and 11 a, b, c, d 1. Students will be
able to organize the elements in increasing
atomic number and explain how periodicity of the
physical and chemical properties of the elements
relates to atomic structure. 2. Students will
combine atoms to form molecules by sharing
electrons to form covalent or metallic bonds or
by exchanging electrons to form ionic bonds. 3.
Students will describe chemical reactions by
writing balanced equations and calculate the
masses of reactants and products. 11. Students
will compare and contrast the differences nuclear
fusion and fission. Students will be able to
classify alpha, beta, and gamma radiation based
on the different amounts and kinds of damage in
matter and the different penetrations. Investigat
ion Experimentation Standards a, f, and
g Students will develop their own questions and
perform investigations.
The Phoenix lander scraped the Martian surface
and uncovered water ice just below the soil.
Source NASA Phoenix Mission
Living in an extreme UV radiation environment,
such as Mars, will require protection unlike
anything on Earth. We will need to shield both
individuals and structures.
A metal-making process known to the ancient
Romans could be pressed into service to bring
Mars into the Iron Age and start opening the
solar system to human habitation. "If you look at
the soil composition of Mars, the one thing that
really strikes you is that it's 5 to 14 percent
iron oxide," said Dr. Peter Curreri, a materials
scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center. "It's almost ore-grade material."
Curreri thought that the Solar Clipper could be
pressed into double duty once it arrives at Mars.
The Clipper's solar Cells would provide more
than enough power to run the Mars outpost. The
trick is getting the electricity to the ground.