4d9b9bb1-240d-4046-a0c1-81cbe81369aa.pptVIP

New Efforts to Learn about Planet Mars Objectives: In this lesson, students will be able to: grasp the main idea and find out the supporting details that clarify the main idea; study the structure of the text as an expository essay and apply this knowledge to students’ writing; expand students’ vocabulary and background knowledge on the topic of space and space exploration; grasp the language in the text (comprehend and know how to use the difficult sentences and new words/phrases). Background information --- What do you know about the planet of Mars? Which paragraph in the article introduces planet Mars? HST pictures of Mars Sequence of Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars, taken 1994-1995 Myrtis Major (when Mars at its closest on Aug. 27, 2003) Making inferences --- What was the time of launch and arrival of Mars Global Surveyor? What about Mars Pathfinder? How do you know that? What is the difference between an orbiter, a lander, and a rover? Chart-filling --- Mission Nation Time of launch Time of arrival Objective Result Mars Global Surveyor --- SpacecraftLaunch: November 7, 1996Arrival: September 12, 1997 Mars Global Surveyor became the first successful mission to the red planet in two decades. The mission has studied the entire Martian surface, atmosphere, and interior. One of the most exciting observations of the spacecrafts wide-angle camera system, known as the Mars Orbital Camera, is that the red planet has very repeatable weather patterns. Mars Pathfinder SpacecraftLaunch: December 4, 1996 Arrival: July 4, 1997 RoverMass: 10.6 kilograms (23 pounds)Science instruments: Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer, three Cameras (also technology experiments) The lander, formally named the Carl Sagan Memorial Station following its successful touchdown, and the rover, named Sojourner after American civil rights crusader Sojourner Truth, both outlived their design lives — the lander by nearly three times, and the rover by 12 times. Mars Pathfinder