Theyearis2076.HumanshavesolvedsomeofthelargerproblemsassociatedwithalongtermMarsmission,includingradiationexposureandlandinglargepayloadssafelyonthesurface.AhandfuloffacilitieshavebeenestablishedontheMartiansurfaceincludingaGreenhouse,amobilegeosurveybase,andacentralizedresearchhabitat. TheprimaryhumanhabitatwithintheMarssystemisnotonMarsitself,butlocatedapproximately9376kmawayonitsmoon,Phobos. ThistinymoonprovidesanexcellentlocationforapermanentbasetocontinuestudyingMars.

A largeshuttleregularly ferriesastronautsandscientistsbetweenthebaseonPhobosandthesurfaceofMars.Thisshuttle,orMarsTransportVehicle(MTV),servesasthespacecraftforthemission.TheMTVcarriespartstobuildaROVforhydrologicalexplorationanditalsocarriesoneunmanneddroneaircraftwhichcancarrytheROVtoasurveydestination.However,whencrewmembersdiscoverathreattotheirMTVbase,theymustactquicklytosavetheircrewandtheirstation.

Thetwogroupswillhavetoworktogethertoaccomplishtheirmissiongoals:tosearchforevidenceoflifeonMars,whetherfossilorliving,tosearchforevidenceofwater,andtokeepeveryonesafe.Usingteamworkandcreativeproblemsolving,thecrewwillbeabletocontinuetheirresearchonourneighborplanet.

MISSIONTEAMSOnememberofeachteamwillbeinMissionControlforthefirsthalfofthemissionwhiletheotherisassignedtothe

MarsTransportVehicle(MTV).HalfwaythroughExpeditionMars,thegroupinMissionControllaunchestotheMTVand

theMTVgroupreturnstoworkinMissionControl.

COMMUNICATION(COM)ProvidecommunicationssupportbetweenastronautsandMissionControl;Managethedistributionofassignmentsduringaneventandduringsomeemergencies;Discoverandreprogrammissingcommunicationsatellites.

NAVIGATION(NAV)CalculateandplotthecoursefortheSpacecrafttoreachandnavigatetoMarsfromPhobos;Performcriticalpre-flightcheckstoensuretheMTVisreadytofly.

BIOLOGY(BIO)Testsoiltodetermineifmicrobesarepresent;ChecktheSpacecraftforsignsofbeneficialorharmfulbacteria.

ROBOTICS(BOT)ExamineMartianrocksusingroboticarms;Executebasicprogramsforunmannedroverstogathertheirpayloads.

GEOLOGY(GEO)ExaminedifferentMartianrocksforkeyelementsandminerals;Researchandmappossibledigsitesinsearchofimportantminerals.

LIFESUPPORT(LS)WorkhandinhandwithpeerstoensuresafeconditionsforallteammembersontheSpacecraft;Managelifesupportemergenciesastheyemerge.

MEDICAL(MED)Monitorthehealthofthecrewwithafocusonradiation;Runvariousdiagnosticsondifferentteammembers’bloodpressure,radiationlevels,andheartrate.

ROVER(ROV)Buildandtestaremotelyoperatedvehicle(R.O.V.)tosearchMarsforsignsofwater;Installcriticalequipmentandcomponentsandretrievedata.

WEATHER(WEATHER)LocateamissingsatelliteandtrackotherobjectsintheMartiansky;TrackandobserveduststormsontheMarssurface.

Expedition Mars brings science tolife, giving students the excitingopportunity to apply what theylearn in the classroom to a real lifescenario in our state-of-the-artsimulatedlearningenvironment.

Before the mission begins,educators have access to a teacherguidedevelopedtogivestudentsanunderstanding of topics coveredin the mission. Lesson plans andactivitiesareoutlinedtocorrespondwith five key areas of Mars – HowMars Compares to Earth, theBiologyof Mars, Transporting toand fromMars, the Geology of Mars andEvidenceofWater,andHumansonMars.

Throughbothprojectandproblem-basedlearning,studentstakingpartinthemissionhavetocompletetaskstoensuresuccess.Atthesame time, they may encounter emergencies or unexpectedproblemsthatrequirecriticalthinkinganddecision-makingskillstofindresolutions.Eachstudentplaysapartinthemission,interactswith at least one physical hands-on lab, and is responsible forfinishingseveraltasks.Teamworkiscrucialbecauseifonememberoftheclassfailstocompletehisorherjob,theentiremissionmaybeatrisk.

Aligning with Common Core and Next Generation ScienceStandards and containing up-to-date, accurate educationalcontent,ChallengerCentermissionscanbecustomizedtoallowforadaptationsbasedontheneedsofstudents.Inaddition,ChallengerCenter digitalmissionanddata logs nowprovide teacherswith alevelofassessmentforpostmissionreviewandtohelpcontinuetheexperienceintheclassroom.Teacherscanwalkawaywithadigitalcopy of the student activity during the mission to gain a betterunderstandingofstrengthsandweaknessoftheirclass.

ScobeeEducationCenteratSanAntonioCollege

1819N.MainAveSanAntonio,TX78212

210-486-0100sac-ScobeeCtr@alamo.edu

JenniferBecerraLeadFlightDirector,

AcademicProgramCoordinatorJbecerra6@alamo.edu

210-486-0955