A Search for Life: Astro-Rover STEM Challenge
Post by Kristina Klammer
August 20, 2024
Could there be alien life in space?
For centuries, humans have pondered the possibility of life beyond Earth. It’s a question that captures the imagination of both scientists and students alike—one I hear in my classroom every year when we explore space.
In this exciting science and engineering unit, students will dive into the essential ingredients that life needs to survive in our solar system. They will investigate various locations in the solar system to determine where scientists might have the best chance of discovering extraterrestrial life. Then, students take on the challenge of researching and designing their own rovers, equipped to search for signs of life at their chosen destinations.
Overview of Astro-Rover STEM Unit
Your mission: You are an astrobiologist searching for extraterrestrial life in our solar system! NASA has asked you to identify a moon or planet where you would like to send a rover mission to search for life.
The Astro-Rover STEM Challenge is a classroom favorite, with many of my students calling it the highlight of their entire school year! What makes this space-themed unit unique is the way it blends science concepts and design thinking into one truly interdisciplinary package. The Astro-Rover STEM lesson, perfect for middle school classrooms, captivates students with the thrilling topic of alien life while aligning with key NGSS science standards, such as understanding how the presence of water can indicate potential for life.
During the lesson, students engage their creative problem-solving and engineering design skills to build a functional rover that meets specific criteria. For many of my middle school students, constructing the rover's circuits was an entirely new experience. There's nothing quite like witnessing their excitement when they see a motor come to life or an LED light up for the very first time.
Beyond the hands-on learning, students also have the opportunity to enhance other essential skills that are often underemphasized in the STEM classroom, such as citing textual evidence from informational texts and honing their research abilities. As they explore various rover technologies, students are introduced to new vocabulary and summarize key concepts with a graphic organizer.
This unit is aligned with the following NGSS Standards for Middle School:
MS-ETS1-1, 2
MS-ESS1-3, 4
The unit is also aligned with the following Common Core ELA Standards for Middle School:
RI.6.4
RI.8.1
RI.8.2
Astro-Rover Unit Details
With my 8th graders, this lesson takes about six to seven 45-minute sessions to complete, plus a few more sessions for the research phase. It can easily be adapted to be longer or shorter according to your own classroom time constraints. The project has two main components: a science-based research activity and an engineering design challenge. Below are more details on how I break-down this unit:
Learn about astrobiology and ingredients for life
Research: Select a Location + Explore NASA Rovers
Design and build a rover prototype using provided motors, axles, and wheels to meet design criteria
Create a poster to share rover design and mission location
Part 1: Introduce the Challenge
Your mission: You are an astrobiologist searching for extraterrestrial life in our solar system! NASA has asked you to identify a moon or planet where you would like to send a rover mission to search for life.
To get started, students will learn about the field of astrobiology and the three ingredients needed for life to form in space. Here is a great video to share.
Part 2: Research
To tackle this challenge, students will conduct research on four potential locations in the solar system and select one location that they think is most likely to have life.
After selecting a location and forming teams, students will research and take notes on different rover technologies that they might want to include on their rover on their search for life. They will use a variety of sources, including a list of suggested videos and websites, to gather information.
Part 3: Engineering Design Challenge
Students will use the Engineering Design Process handouts to design and build a rover to search for life! This part can be completed individually or in small teams. During the brainstorming and defining the problem section, we encourage students to come up with their own rover designs. They use a prototype planning worksheet to plan which rover technologies will be added to their rover design, identify which team members will build it, and describe what it does. Each team member draws a sketch of the parts they will build and a sketch of the whole rover before creating a design sketch together as a team.
After completing a prototype of their rover, students can begin setting up a testing area to test their rovers. In order to successfully meet the criteria, the rover must be able to travel a distance of at least 10 feet while carrying a “sample.” Students are encouraged to iterate on their designs to improve them through multiple testing trials.
Part 4: Extension & Reflection
After completing their designs and final tests, students can present their rover designs in a “symposium”-style presentation. Each student group creates a poster to describe their design process, their rover technologies, and their selected location. Don’t forget to leave time to allow students to complete their own personal reflections about their learning process!
Materials Needed
To implement this project in your classroom, you will need materials to build rovers. The following is a list of suggested materials to use (many alternatives to these materials are possible):
Motors (one for each student group)
Short Axles, 2” or 50mm
Long Axles 4” or 100mm
Plastic Wheels (These fit the motors and the axles)
AA Batteries
1 Hot glue gun (recommended) or Elmer’s glue
Scissors
Masking Tape/Duct Tape
Small weight for “rock sample”
Tips and Tricks
Here are some helpful tips for implementing this unit in your classroom:
Students are easily swayed by examples, so don’t give them any hints until they struggle with the challenge first. We then recommend asking guiding questions such as “What can you do to improve your design?” or “Why do you think this design is not working?”
Students will want to continually test and revise their designs. We recommend having students sketch an idea, and then provide all materials for building and testing. Encourage students to test their design early, so they can iterate on their designs.
If you want to help scaffold students’ design process, consider giving them a predesigned chassis for them to build off of. You can either order a chassis from a kit, or create them with cardboard.
Students can have some difficulty connecting the leads of the motor to the battery packs. Spend some time talking about open/closed circuits, and consider getting wire strippers and wire connectors like these to help students connect electrical wires.
Additional Resources
Here are some great resources about astrobiology, space, and rovers to bring in real-world connections:
Want to implement this activity in your classroom or program? Check out our full teacher and student STEM guide. This includes editable teacher slides and student handouts for each step of the project, and a rubric for assessment.
