Mars Adventures1

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Mars Adventures:

Spring Madness

Follow Your Curiosity!

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About

Map

Lesson Objectives

Quiz

Gallery 1

Introduction

Lesson Review

Gallary 2

Mars Video

References

Welcome To Mars

Welcome Explorers! I am Curiosity.

I was the fourth rover that landed on Mars. Ancient Mars has a habitable environment with lakes; Discovered organic molecules preserved in ancient rocks; Detected seasonal variations.

Join me on a trip to Mars as we uncover the secrets of this beautiful red planet!

Get ready for thrilling discoveries and exciting challenges! Let the Mars Adventure Begin!

Module Objectives

By the End of this module, you will:

• Discover cool facts about Mars.
• Explore the wild events that happen during Martian spring.
• Uncover the science behind how and why each event happens.
• Show what you’ve learned in a quiz.

Mars 101 – Your Friendly Cosmic Crash Course

Welcome to Mars — Earth’s smaller, colder, and far more dramatic next-door neighbor.

Sitting fourth from the Sun, Mars has been the solar system’s biggest celebrity for thousands of years. Ancient civilizations tracked its bright red glow, imagining it as a wandering god of war.

Modern scientists track it with high-tech telescopes, rovers, and orbiters, hoping it might be the key to discovering life beyond Earth!

Mars 101 – Your Friendly Cosmic Crash Course

Photo from http://www.natgeotv.com.au/

Mars is famous for its rusty red color, which comes from iron in its soil — basically, the entire planet is covered in cosmic dust that’s been oxidizing for millions of years. Mars is literally one giant rusty rock.

Even though it might look warm and fiery, it’s actually freezing — colder than Antarctica on its worst day!

It's half of Earth's size, but don’t let its small size fool you! This small world is full of scientific surprises: gigantic volcanoes, deep valleys, ancient riverbeds, and mysteries still waiting to be solved.

Mars 101 – Your Friendly Cosmic Crash Course

What is this?

Mars is the most Earth-like planet in the Solar System. It once had water, it has seasons, it has polar ice caps, and it might have been home to microbial life long ago. And honestly, who doesn’t want to know if we have ancient space cousins?

From ancient myths to modern rover selfies, Mars has captured human curiosity for centuries. And now, you get to explore it up close. Get ready for dust, discovery, and a whole lot of “Wait…Mars does THAT?” moments.

Reflection

Spring Madness

Now, lets watch a video to learn what happens on Mars in the spring.

Reflection

Lesson Review

• Mars, like Earth, has four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter—but because its year is longer, each season lasts about twice as long.
• Spring on Mars is wild! The most dramatic and visible changes happen—CO₂ geysers, avalanches, and active surface changes.
• As the Sun warms up the frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) at the poles, it causes explosive jets of gas that can carve strange shapes into the surface.
• Mars has avalanches! When the ice warms up, chunks of it break off cliffs near the poles and tumble down, creating dramatic avalanches.

Mars Spring Excitement!

Click on the Green Hotspots to reveal the name.

Avalanches

Sand Dunes

Gas Jets

Creeping Sand Dunes

On Mars, Sands Shift to a Different Drum!

• Creeping sand dunes on Mars are active sand formations that move across the Martian surface, driven by winds.

• The movement is caused by a process called "impact-driven creep," where small grains of sand are knocked into motion by winds, which then collide with larger grains and set them in motion.

• Scientists observe this movement by comparing images of the same areas over time.

Exploding Jets of Gas

Pop! Fizz! Boom! Martian Edition!

• Gas jets on Mars are powerful eruptions of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) that occur in the spring at the planet's south polar region.

• As light shines through carbon dioxide ice on Mars, it heats up its bottom layers. But rather than melting into a liquid, they turn into gas.

• The buildup gas eventually results in explosive geysers that toss dark fans of debris on to the surface.

Avalanches

Where Ice and Dust Go Sliding Wild!

• Avalanches occur on Mars, both as dust avalanches triggered by wind or impacts and as ice avalanches in polar regions.

• Dust Avalanches are made of fine dust and are often visible as dark or bright streaks on slopes. The most common cause is the seasonal warming and wind, which mobilizes dust grains around sunrise and sunset.

• Ice Avalanches happen mainly in the northern spring as rising temperatures cause ice and frost to vaporize, destabilizing blocks of ice.The melting ice destabilizes the ground and trigger loose ice blocks to break free and fall down cliffs, like those in the North Polar layered deposits.

Final Mission

You’ve survived Martian dust, icy cliffs, and some seriously strange science. Ready for your final test? Let’s see how much Martian magic you’ve picked up! Answer each question the best you can — your training has prepared you well!

Final Quiz - Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Congratulations!

Well done, Explorer! I am proud of you!

You’ve reached the end of your Mars Adventure. Thanks for your interest, your courage, and your brilliant thinking.

Until our next journey, keep wondering, keep exploring, and keep looking up.

Follow Your Curiosity!

Gallary 1

Paposo - Rock Formation

Dust Devil

Crater caused by Meteor

Sand Dune

Phobos - Moon

Avalanche

Curiosity Rover

Image courtesy of NASA

Gallary 2

Image courtesy of NASA

Polar Ice Cap

Rock Formation

Sand Dune

Rock Formation - liquid or gas flowed through cracks penetrating underground rock

Sand Dune

Curiosity Rover

Map of Mars

Mars Adventures:

Spring Madness

This microlearning was scripted and produced by:

Where imagination takes flight

Niloo Soleimani

Learning Experience Designer

Enage and Inspire Minds

References

Learn Bright. (n.d.). Mars for kids [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ruo_uZHeLls NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (n.d.). New year, new Mars: Red planet gets active as spring begins (Mars report) [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_w9ZFDqXN38?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpDDRIMGNxDTAORJVK2RS7I NASA Science. (n.d.). Mars. https://science.nasa.gov/mars/ Smith, D. E. (2021). Global topographic map of Mars from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data, with major surface features labeled [Image]. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-topographic-map-of-Mars-from-Mars-Orbit-Maser-Altimeter-data-with-major-surface_fig2_357445037

All pictures were either purchased or available on NASA's site.

Map Reference

The Magnetic and Color Reflectance Properties of Hematite: From Earth to Mars - Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Global-topographic-map-of-Mars-from-Mars-Orbit-Maser-Altimeter-data-with-major-surface_fig2_357445037 [accessed 1 Dec 2025]

About This Course

This course introduces learners to key scientific concepts about Mars through short videos, interactive hotspots, and fun knowledge checks. Designed for engagement and exploration, it blends authentic NASA resources with hands-on discovery to make planetary science accessible, memorable, and enjoyable for students of all ages. It is an ELA reading-comprehension module that demonstrates how multimedia, visuals, and interactive elements can significantly enhance student engagement, retain attention, and deepen understanding of complex informational texts.