Scientists, Educators Prepare for Mars Pathfinder Mission

and Matthew P. Golombek,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

Mars scientists, engineers, and 13 K–12 educators invaded eastern Washington's Channeled Scabland for a week in September to explore terrain similar to the kind Mars Pathfinder will encounter when it touches down on the red planet on July 4, 1997. Through field trips and workshops, the scientists and engineers reached consensus on a number of issues about Mars history and shared their knowledge and enthusiasm with the public. The teachers, who came from Washington and Idaho, witnessed engineering, scientific investigation, and debate in action, and acquired a great deal of knowledge about Mars that they can bring back to their classrooms and communities.

"We worked side by side with the scientists and engineers as they researched, experimented, problem-solved and debated different aspects of the Mars Pathfinder mission," explained high school teacher John Gallagher.

Evaluating the Mars-analog terrain in Washington helped the Mars scientists prepare for Mars Pathfinder's landing, which will take place in an outflow channel called Ares Vallis, within a 100 x 200 km landing ellipse centered on 19.5° N, 32.8° W. Mars Pathfinder's small rover, Sojourner (named for the 19th Century civil rights figure, Sojourner Truth), will explore the area around the landing site and measure the elemental composition of rocks and soils using an alpha proton X-ray spectrometer (APXS). The lander has a stereo camera for visible/near-infrared imaging, mineral spectroscopy, and atmospheric investigations; and an atmospheric structure and meteorology package.

Several field trips were taken in the Channeled Scabland to give participants a chance to see and walk upon a variety of terrains that might be found in or near the Ares Vallis landing site. The Channeled Scabland developed more than 13,000 years ago when ice dams failed, causing the catastrophic release of water from ice age Lake Missoula. The floods ripped across the Columbia Plateau, down the Columbia Gorge, spilled into the Willamette Valley, and debauched into the Pacific Ocean, explained Victor R. Baker of the University of Arizona, who led the field work in Washington.

An aircraft overflight proved crucial for understanding the immense flood landforms. Another excursion simulated a trip through Ares Vallis. During this trip the group traveled down the Lower Grand Coulee from Dry Falls out onto the massive Ephrata Fan deposit in the Quincy Basin. Issues concerning Mars Pathfinder's descent, landing, and microrover mobility were discussed as participants examined boulder deposits on the Ephrata Fan a few kilometers south of Soap Lake (Figure 1).

Fig.1. Field work in the Channeled Scabland offered the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) microrover engineers an opportunity to test an eight-wheeled prototype of Mars Pathfinder's rover, Sojourner, in a Mars-like setting on the Ephrata Fan, south of Soap Lake, Washington. Shown here (left to right) are Tom Rivellini (JPL), Howard Eisen (JPL), Keith Olive (Wilson Middle School, Yakima, Wash.), and Fran O'Rourke (Cedar Wood Elementary School, Bothell, Wash.). Photo by Ed McNevin of JPL, September 25, 1995.

The Mars Pathfinder project personnel benefitted from observing flood-deposit surfaces like those that will be found on Mars. A key observation was the heterogeneous distribution of large rocks on the proximal Ephrata Fan; most of the Fan has little or no rocks, while several areas have surface concentrations of many boulders. Most of the rocks observed were rounded instead of sharp and jagged and would not pose a hazard to the giant airbags used to cushion the Mars Pathfinder's impact.

A landing site workshop was held for key members of the Mars Pathfinder management, engineering and science teams in Spokane, Wash., from September 28 to 29. A number of issues related to the mission were discussed: the status of the spacecraft, the geologic setting and the flood history of the Ares Vallis landing site, sedimentology and exopaleontology, prospects for what Mars Pathfinder will find at Ares Vallis, and hazards due to boulders, mesas, and surface roughness.

The scientists in the workshop reached a consensus on several issues. They agreed that the Ares Vallis landing site has experienced more than one flooding event and that the latest major flood came from Tiu Vallis and swept northeastward through the site. Most also agreed that the Ares Vallis landing site is, to the best of our knowledge, similar to the Viking 1 and 2 sites of 1976. This assessment is derived largely from analysis of Earth-based radar observations taken during the 1995 Mars opposition, in combination with interpretation of Viking thermal infrared mapper data obtained in the 1970s. The field work prior to the science workshop enhanced understanding of the geologic interpretations discussed.

Public and Educational Outreach

The Mars Pathfinder field trips and workshops provided great potential for educational and public outreach. In addition to the participation of the K–12 teachers in field work at the Channeled Scabland, a workshop was held for Spokane-area K–12 teachers and an open house was attended by about 700 parents, children, and members of the community. The open house was highly successful. The public was treated to a slide show on the upcoming Mars missions and educational stations set up by the scientists. The Mars Pathfinder engineering teams ran a prototype microrover, showed videotapes of airbag testing, and presented a three-dimensional slide show of Mars images. Other scientists showed samples of Moon rocks and meteorites.

The open house provided an excellent educational opportunity for the residents of Spokane and was an invigorating experience for the scientists and engineers. "This has touched so many people in many ways we'll never fully appreciate," commented teacher Maureen Harder. Stories about the field project appeared in most major Washington newspapers during the week, and television crews documented portions of the field work for use in future NASA and PBS television broadcasts.

The education and public outreach continues as the 13 teachers who participated in the field work share their experiences with their home communities. All of the teachers have incorporated study of Mars into their curriculums and some have even made local radio and television appearances, presented Mars exploration curriculum materials at conventions for science teachers, and organized student field trips to the Channeled Scabland.

The field trips and workshops provide an excellent model for involving educators and the public in science and engineering activities. The enthusiasm and energy of the 13 educators who participated was contagious; indeed, many participants felt that the educators' contribution to the process was very important. The science workshop and field trips were jointly sponsored by Arizona State University, Tempe, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and NASA Headquarters.

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