LEARNING MATTERS

BYTES - MISSION TO MARS

In Term 2 a new science elective was introduced to the Year 9 BYTES program.  Running for five weeks, Mission to Mars is based around an excursion to the Victorian Space School in Strathmore which occurs at the end of the elective.  In preparation for the excursion students complete a range of activities, both skill and knowledge based.  

Students become familiar with the principles of flight, rocket propulsion, astrobiology and microgravity.  

They compare and contrast the climate, geology and gravitational environments of Earth and Mars and grapple with the big question, ‘Is there life on other worlds?’ Students examine the skills required to work in space for long periods of time, but also make planes, fire rockets, complete various simulations, research space oddities and complete team challenges.  Finally, the group will visit the Victorian Space School where, for half the day, they don a spacesuit, collect samples and take readings on the surface of ‘Mars’.  The other part of the day is spent in ‘Mission Control’, monitoring the astronauts and the simulation parameters.

Thus far the students doing Mission to Mars have had a blast!  This new elective has provided them with the opportunity to combine scientific research and theory, with practical tasks, as they ponder the limits of human exploration and consider our place in the universe.

Richard Long

Curriculum Co-ordinator