Sensors and logic

In this session students will create a logic circuit to represent a Mars rover MOT. They will identify the necessary logic gates and consider numerous inputs, which will be combined and traversed in person. They will make the link between truth tables and undertake testing and some simplification to reduce the...

Collecting and processing samples

For this session students will work out a limited set of instructions to enable the ExoMars rover to find good locations to take samples for analysis. They will have to consider carefully what instructions the software will have to carry out to make the ExoMars rover’s hardware function effectively. They will then...

Steganography

Students will understand the concept of steganography and will create a bitmap image. They will explore colour depth and know how to convert a custom image to binary. They will be able to decode binary images and use pattern recognition to identify abnormal data.

These resources are set in the context of the...

Working in space

For this session students will find out the answers to the following questions: What do the UK Space Agency and European Space Agency do? What are the STEM subjects and how do they relate to a rover mission? What jobs are there from design, launch, landing and exploring? What skills are needed within these jobs?...

Nature and machines

This session will allow students to explore how nature has enabled animals and plants to move on the surface of our planet and how this can be used to create future rovers for exploring Mars. How will future machines travel effectively across the various types of Martian terrain and survive some of the...

Instructions, flow charts and decisions

For this session students will think about what instructions are needed within the software of the ExoMars rover and how they will make the hardware work to complete tasks successfully. There will be a focus on three steps within computational thinking: identify the problem, decomposition and collecting data. After...

Instruction sets

Students will explore the difference between RISC and CISC instruction sets by navigating a rover to different locations on a given map. They will explore how increasing the range of instructions can reduce the number of instructions required but increase the amount of data required to store the commands. They will...

Lesson 8 - Comparing Mars rovers

This activity develops digital literacy using the context of exploring Mars. Also developing the skills of collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information. Children first learn about infographics and establish what makes a good one. They then design their own infographic to allow the reader to...

Lesson 7 - Mission to Mars

This activity provides a cross-curricular opportunity, mixing computing, design technology and science in the context of designing a Mars rover. Children consider the requirements of a Mars rover and create criteria for the design. They design their rovers then evaluate them and re-design them, modeling the process...