NASA's Viking Mission to Mars was composed of two spacecraft, Viking 1 and Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander. The primary mission objectives were to obtain high resolution images of the Martian surface, characterize the structure and composition of the atmosphere and surface, and search for...

The Mars Safari Education Pack is designed to leave primary school children feeling like they’ve explored the Red Planet! Working in small groups, children design and build their own ExoMars rover, analyse ‘Martian’ soil samples, safely navigate the Rover across the surface of Mars and make a solar light that only...

Guidance and navigation engineer, Richard Lancaster, explains how the ‘Mars Yard’, at Airbus Defence and Space, Stevenage, allows engineers to test out the capabilities of the ExoMars rover.  He talks about the need to transmit all commands and receive data through a spacecraft orbiting Mars.  Spacecraft engineer,...

This resource encourages pupils to develop their practical skills using a saw and a glue gun to construct a miniature catapult capable of firing a marshmallow. They also have the opportunity to develop their skills to work as part of a team. This activity could be used in key stage two as a short design and...

Could there be life on Mars? Perhaps so, although the high intensity of UV light means that it is unlikely to be found on the surface. The experiment demonstrates how bacteria grown on agar plates can be killed off by UV exposure. Curriculum areas covered: • Microbiology • Cell biology • Aseptic technique The video...

This collection provides 4 units of work linked to Design and Technology, which explore the need for exploration robots, how they work, how their systems collect data and an understanding of the specialised materials and mechanisms they use. All activities centre around the ExoMars Mission and the Rosalind Franklin...

Aimed at the 11-14 age group, this is a unit of six one-hour design and technology lessons to develop an understanding of how systems on exploration robots are combined and collect data. Students are given a design brief to build their own model rover, experientially, to function in simulated Martian conditions....

This resource provides a series of 1 hour lessons designed to help children understand the need for exploration robots and learn about how they function. They are based around the European Space Agency’s (ESA) new robotic rover Rosalind Franklin...

This is a unit of three two hour lessons to consolidate understanding of the specialised materials and mechanisms used on exploration robots. Students build or test, or build and test these to develop knowledge and evaluate them.  These resources are aimed at the 14-16 age group.  The context is focussed on the...

This resource provides a series of lessons designed to help children understand the need for exploration robots and learn about how they work. The activities link mostly to D&T with a science context, though some of the activities are more focussed on learning in English.

The activities are:

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These materials, from the Microbiology Society look at the work of Louis Pasteur and helps students to understand the growth of yeast. There are three resources that can be used together or separately and are suitable for Key Stage Two or Three students.

Marvellous microbes This comic strip...

From the Microbiology Society, these resources help children to think about how important it is to keep their hands clean to avoid spreading harmful microbes. Marvellous microbes: issue two This comic strip follows the story of a small girl and illustrates how important it is to wash her hands...