Name______________ Grade_____________ Class ______ 10 Interesting Facts About Curiosity !
1. Curiosity’s Eyes!
The MastCam is Curiosity's workhorse imaging
tool. It will capture high-resolution color pictures
and video of the Martian landscape, which
scientists will study and laypeople will gawk at.
MastCam consists of two camera systems
mounted on a mast that rises above Curiosity's
main body, so the instrument will have a good
view of the Red Planet environment as the rover
chugs through it. MastCam images will also help
the mission team drive and operate Curiosity.
[Photos of NASA's Curiosity Rover]
2. A Sleuth on Mars!
MAHLI will function much like a high-powered
magnifying glass, allowing Earthbound
scientists to get up-close looks at Martian rocks
and soil. The instrument will take color pictures
of features as tiny as 12.5 microns — smaller
than the width of a human hair. MAHLI sits on
the end of Curiosity's five-jointed, 7-foot (2.1meter) robotic arm, which is itself a marvel of
engineering. So mission scientists will be able to
point their high-tech hand lens pretty much
wherever they want.
2/4/13 Project-­‐Based Ac4vity 4/5 2013 Stephanie Stern Endeavor Fellow 1 3. The View From Above!
MARDI, a small camera
located on Curiosity's main
body, will record video of
the rover's descent to the
Martian surface (which will
be accomplished with the
help of a hovering, rocketpowered sky crane).
4. Sampling Mars!
SAM is the heart of Curiosity; at 83 pounds (38
kilograms), it makes up about half of the rover's
science payload. SAM is actually a suite of three
separate instruments — a mass spectrometer, a
gas chromatograph and a laser spectrometer.
These instruments will search for carbon-containing
compounds, the building blocks of life as we know
it. They will also look for other elements associated
with life on Earth, such as hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen. The SAM instrument suite is located in
Curiosity's main body. The rover's robotic arm will
drop samples into SAM via an inlet on the rover's
exterior. Some of these samples will come from the
interior of rocks, powder bored out by a 2-inch (5centimeter) drill situated at the end of the arm.
None of Curiosity's predecessors could get deep
into Martian rocks, so scientists are excited about
the drill. "For a geologist that studies rocks, there's
nothing better than getting inside," said MSL
deputy project scientist Joy Crisp, of NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
2/4/13 2 Check Your Science Reading! 1. What is Curiosity’s main goal? A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
To assess Mars for the ability to support life. To use its laser to shoot at the atmosphere To ask ques4ons to the life forms on Mars To determine how old the “Face on Mars” is. 2. The “MASTCAM” is a camera mounted A.  Truck on a mast. What other transport on Earth B.  Car has a mast? C.  Train D.  Ship 3. What measurement is smaller than a human hair? A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Millimeter Cen4meter Micron Macron 4. According to the reading, what is the metric equivalent of pounds? A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Tons Ounces Kilograms Millimeters 5. Challenge Ques4on: Looking at the picture on Page 1, what might be another word for Sleuth? A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
A cleaner A detec4ve A firefighter A. teacher 2/4/13 3 5. Chemistry of Mars!
CheMin will identify different types of minerals on Mars and quantify
their abundance, which will help scientists better understand past.
Like SAM, ChemMin has an inlet on Curiosity’s exterior to accept
samples delivered by the rover’s robotic arm. The instrument will shine
a fine X-ray beam through the sample, identify minerals’ crystalline
structures based on how the Xrays diffract. “This is like magic to us,”
Crisp told SPACE.com. X-ray diffraction is a leading diagnostic
technique for Earthbound geologists she explained, but it hasn’t
made it to Mars yet. So CheMin should help Curiosity provide more
definitive mineral characterizations than previous Mars rovers such as
Spirit and Opportunity have been able to achieve.
6. Curiosity Has a Laser (Pew, pew, pew!)!
For sheer coolness, it's tough to beat
ChemCam. This instrument will fire a laster at
Martian rocks from up to 30 feet (9 meters)
away and analyze the composition of the
vaporized bits. ChemCham will thus enable
Curiosity to study rocks that are out of reach
of its flexible robotic arm. It will also help the
mission team determine from afar whether or
not they want to send the rover over to
investigate a particular landform. ChemCam
is composed of several different part. The
laser sits on Curiosity’s mast, along with a
camera and a small telescope. Three
spectrographs sit in the rover’s body
connected to the mast components by fiber
optics. The spectrographs will analyze the light
emitted by excited electrons in the vaporized
samples.
2/4/13 4 Vocabulary Victory! 6. Geologist means what?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
A person who studies earth
and solid materials
A person who studies water
vapor
A person who studies
clouds and weather
A person who studies
animals
7. The word Predecessor refers to
which definition?
A.  Something that or someone
who existed after
B.  Something that or someone
who exited before
C.  Something that or someone
who existed at the same
time
D.  Something that or someone
who never existed at all
8. What does the word Determine
mean in the sentence “Scientists
will be able to determine whether
to explore further.”
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Applaud
Ask
Discuss
Decide
9. CheMin will identify different
types of minerals on Mars and
quantify their abundance, … in this
sentence, what does abundance
mean?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Amount
Color
Taste
Sound
10. Challenge Question:
What is the antonym of
components?
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Parts
Pieces
Whole
Section
2/4/13 5 In Your Own Words The reading describes an instrument that can shine an X-ray through soil
in order to figure out what elements are in the soil.
For example, what if there were water on Mars just like Earth? What
might that mean to us? What if there were minerals on Mars that could
help us on Earth?
Write a short story about a discovery using an X-ray where you discover
with scientist!
The story will start, and you fill in the rest!
Jane and Michael went to the Liberty Science Center every summer.
This year, the Science Center was conducting tests using X-rays on the
rocks in the Hudson River. The day that they went, Jane and Michael
discovered that the scientists found something surprising and unusual!
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______________________________________________ 2/4/13 6 7. The Search for Mars Water!
DAN, located near the back of
Curiosity's main body, will help the
rover search for ice and water-logged
minerals beneath the Martian surface.
The instrument will fire beams of
neutrons at the ground, then note the
speed at which these particles travel
when they bounce back. Hydrogen
atoms tend to slow neutrons down, so
an abundance of sluggish neutrons
would signal underground water or
ice. DAN should be able to map out
water concentrations as low as 0.1
percent at depths up to 6 feet (2 m).
8. Elements of Mars!
APXS, which sits at the end of Curiosity's
arm, will measure the abundances of
various chemical elements in Martian
rocks and dirt. Curiosity will place the
instrument in contact with samples of
interest, and APXS will shoot out X-rays and
helium nuclei. This barrage will knock
electrons in the sample out of their orbits,
causing a release of X-rays. Scientists will
be able to identify elements based on the
characteristic energies of these emitted Xrays. Spirit and Opportunity were outfitted
with a previous version of APXS and used
the instrument to help elucidate the
prominent role water has played in
shaping the Martian landscape.
2/4/13 7 9. Radiation Alert!!
The toaster-size RAD is designed specifically to help prepare for future
human exploration of Mars. The instrument will measure and identify
high-energy radiation of all types on the Red Planet, from fast-moving
protons to gamma rays. RAD's observations will allow scientists to
determine just how much radiation an astronaut would be on Mars.
This information could also help researchers understand how much of
a hurdle Mars’ radiation environment might have posed to the origin
and evolution of the life on the Red Planet.
10. Weather on Mars!
This tool, which sits partway up Curiosity's mast, is a Martian
weather station. REMS will measure atmospheric pressure,
humidity, wind speed and direction, air temperature,
ground temperature and ultraviolet radiation. All of this
information will be integrated into daily and seasonal
reports, allowing scientists to get a detailed look at the
Martian environment.
2/4/13 8 Cross-Curricular/Meaning and Science!
Scientific vocabulary is sometimes difficult to follow, but it’s great to
know facts! Let’s start with some basic words here, and on the next
two pages, fit them into the sentences and a crossword.
Neutrons – are subatomic particles found in almost all forms of
conventional matter. Neutrons are “neutral.” Meaning, they have
about the same mass as protons, but are NOT electrically charged.
Hydrogen - is a naturally occurring gas that is amazingly light.
Hydrogen is, in fact, the lightest gas ever found. It is the first element
on the Periodic Table of Elements.
Atoms - Atoms are the basic building blocks of matter that make up
everyday objects. A desk, the air, even you are made up of atoms!
Depth(s) – 1. The distance from the top or surface of something to its
bottom. 2. Distance from the nearest to the farthest point of
something or from the front to the back.
Chemical Elements - or an element, is a material which cannot be
broken down or changed into another substance using chemical
means.
Electrons – A stable subatomic particle, found in all atoms, that has a
charge of negative electricity.
Emit(ted) – To produce, to discharge (such as light), to make sound.
2/4/13 9 Cross-Curricular/Meaning and Science!
Continued…
Elucidate – to make clear or to explain.
Exploration -an organized trip into unfamiliar regions, especially for
scientific purposes; expedition.
Observation - The act of noting and recording something such as a
phenomenon, with instruments or visual sight.
Origin- The point at which something comes into existence or from
which it derives or is derived.
Hurdle – An obstacle or difficulty that must be overcome
Pressure – Abbr. P Physics Force applied uniformly over a surface,
measured as force per unit of area
Humidity – Dampness, especially of the air
Integrate(d) – To make (made) whole by bringing all the parts
together.
2/4/13 10 What Is The Meaning
Of All Of This??!!!
Science Crossword!
Created at Discovery Education
By S. Stern
2/4/13 Project-­‐Based Ac4vity 4/5 2013 Stephanie Stern Endeavor Fellow 11 In Your Own Words Now you be the writer! Journalists are writers that put ar4cles in newspapers, magazines and online on websites and Weblogs…what you know as “blogs.” One of the challenges that journalists have, that students don’t always have, is a word limit. That’s right! Unlike students, writers have to keep their ar4cles to a maximum (most allowed) number of words in order to fit on a page, or make a small space work, and s4ll be able to deliver the who, what, where, when, why and how of a story. For this assignment, you are a journalist with Kids’ Science Scene. NASA has released informa4on that they found an ocean on Mars with the Curiosity Lander Mission. You have to use no more than 75 words, but you MUST use three from the crossword glossary. Good luck ! ___________________________________________________________
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