It will also use a variety of other instruments to study Mars from orbit over a two-year period of time. Together, the Mars Pathfinder and the Mars Global Surveyor present an historic opportunity to explore Mars from its surface and from orbit. The approach guides students to a deeper understanding of central concepts of planetary science and prepares students to understand the data and images returned from Mars by Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor. For the first time, students can follow the progress of a planetary mission as it happens as well as conduct their own investigations using detailed Mars images, which will be distributed in near real-time over the Internet. Mars Mars offers a marvelous context for probing the power of images in science and education.
Planetary scientists rely heavily on images to explore planets that no human has ever visited.
These scientists develop visual investigation skills by studying images and the clues they offer for unlocking the mysteries of the planets. In education, too, images are rich and engaging tools for student investigations, rather than simply textbook illustrations. We believe that it is not only possible but that visualizations are an essential element of learning about Mars. Images make concepts tangible and are significant tools for synthesizing facts and partial understandings into coherent concepts. As students examine the images, they look for similar features in different areas, compare and contrast features on Earth and Mars, and relate the images to classroom experiments and models.