Robotic Space Exploration
Research one particular mission and make a short powerpoint slideshow. This assignment will be assessed on
criteria A and B.
Possible topics: Mars global surveyor, Spirit and Opportunity, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Viking 1, Viking 3,
Venera 7, Venera 9, Mariner 9, Cassini–Huygens, Pioneer, MESSENGER, New Horizons, Cassini or another
topic checked with your teacher.
Bibliography
Each time you use a resource for information (including a picture), list it here
1
Author
Date
written
Organization
wikipedia
contributors
2011
Wikipedia
Title
URL
Date
Unmanned spacecraft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_
space_mission
9.2.11
accessed
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
First, make an electronic folder for pictures for your powerpoint.
Then, research and make notes using this sheet.
Finally, build your powerpoint using the template provided (see instructions at the end of this sheet).
Name and Date of mission:
What was the mission designed to find out?
What had been found out on previous missions to the planet? How did this help scientists plan this mission?
Was the mission a fly-by, an orbiter, a lander or a rover? How did it take off from Earth? How did it reach the
planet?
What equipment and experiments did the mission have on board?
What did the mission find out? What was the main data the mission produced? Why was this useful to
scientists?
What are the advantages of sending a robotic spacecraft instead of a craft containing astronauts?
What problems were there with the mission?
Which government/company/organization(s) designed, built and paid for the mission? How much did it cost?
How many people worked on it? How long did it take?
What questions didn’t the mission solve? What new questions did it produce?
Other information
How effective do you think the mission was overall? Was it worth it?
Sites for research
Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_space_mission
NASA www.nasa.gov
NASA JPL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Russian Federal Space Agency (RKA) http://www.roscosmos.ru/
ESA http://www.esa.int/
How Stuff Works http://www.howstuffworks.com/
Scientific American http://www.sciam.com/
Powerpoint Slideshow
Use the template to make a slideshow of 7 slides.
Maximum 3 pictures and 20 words on each slide.
Make it interesting but don’t use too many flashy effects.
Include short video clips if you must- max 1 minute.