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A Simulation of A Simulation:
A Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars Experience
Spencer Plutchak
Ocean Lakes High School Math and Science Academy

Author's Note
Special thanks the Virginia Space Grant Consortium
and the Ocean Lakes High School Astronomy Club

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Introduction
Ever since its founding in the 1950's, NASA has been pushing the limits of the human
knowledge of and presence in the cosmos. NASA has undertaken numerous exploratory and
research missions to other bodies in the solar system and even locally on Earth, including the
famous first moon landing. As we progress further into the 21st century, space exploration
becomes only more important. The newly developing private space industry begins to grow
rapidly with many companies emerging and some such as SpaceX and Orbital Science even
being contracted by NASA for supply missions (Dunbar, 2008). New discoveries of all kinds,
such as the recent discovery flowing water on Mars that created a media explosion ("NASA
Confirms...",2015), are made every day. The future of humankind without a doubt lies beyond
the bounds of the Earth, and continued efforts in space exploration may very well be the key to
unlocking humankind's destiny. Even if that proves not to be the case, investment in the
aerospace industry has in the past and will in the future continue to yield huge dividends for
society in the form of spinoff technologies, which are technologies developed for the aerospace
industry that are later used for other applications ("NASA Spinoff", 2015). Famous examples of
products founded in spinoff technologies range from memory foam to scratch resistant lenses.
However, space exploration is not cheap, and for this reason public outreach programs
are very important. Getting the general public involved and excited for space exploration
increases the amount of tax dollars that will likely be allotted to the space program. Especially
getting the youth involved early on and grooming the next generation of engineers and scientists
for the space program is a matter of critical importance. For my capstone project mentorship I
participated in one such outreach program, the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology
Scholars, or VASTS. This program directed at high school eleventh graders in the state of

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Virginia is designed to expose young scholars interested in aerospace science and engineering to
a realistic experience of working in the field. The VASTS program was modeled off of similar
NASA funnel programs in other states. It first involves the students completing a competitive
application to get into a four month long online course. The students with the top grades in the
online course are then selected to attend a one week long academy during the summer, exposing
them to a realistic mission planning simulation. Speaking just from the impact it has had on me,
these programs and others like them are effective in interesting the future generations in space
exploration and even in bringing them into the field. As an extension of my capstone experience,
I will bring this back to Ocean Lakes and, along with a few other VASTS scholars, prepare a
miniature VASTS experience for the Astronomy Club.
The Story of My Search
The story of my search began way back in the 10th grade. A friend of mine who knew I
was interested science clued me in on the fact that a NASA program for young scholars in the
10th grade was open for application. The program was called Virginia Space Coast Scholars,
VSCS. Funnily enough though, I wasn't informed about this program until the last day
applications were open! In spite of this I was able to apply and I was selected to participate in the
VSCS online course. The VSCS online course covered a broad range of aerospace topics, the
NASA focus areas of the Earth, the planets, heliophysics, and astrophysics, as well as various
technologies and mission platforms over the course of five modules. The final project for the
VSCS online coarse was to prepare a mission summary of a specified NASA mission from the
point of a science specialist, an engineer, a technologist, or other similar mission specialist. I
chose to create a summary of the key points of the LADEE mission, or Lunar Atmosphere and

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Dust Environment Explorer, a mission designed to explore the dynamics of dust and the lunar
atmosphere, from the viewpoint of a scientist. Although my work felt rushed, I received high
enough marks on the final project and the online course as a whole to be selected to attend the
VSCS summer academy.
Once I was accepted into the summer program, we were able to request which role we
would play on our team: science specialist, engineer, technologist, etc. I requested to be made a
science specialist in my team. Alas, this was a popular selection, so I was assigned the role of
technologist for the VSCS summer academy. The main goal of the VSCS summer academy was
for your team to design an unmanned mission that takes inspiration from two previous NASA
missions. My team was unique in that rather than taking inspiration from two previous missions,
we had to take inspiration from one previous mission, LADEE, and had to utilize a scientific
balloon. After a little struggle, and a few trips back to the drawing board, we designed a very
competent mission to Venus called VIBES: Venus Investigative Balloon Experimental Study.
Although clunky, my team and I agreed that the name was well worth the acronym. While on the
whole the rigor of VSCS was much less than that of VASTS, I feel like it was an important
preparatory experience for VASTS, and without it I never even would have known to apply to the
VASTS program!
The year following the VSCS experience I applied and was accepted into the VASTS
online course. The VASTS online course was more rigorous, with writing assignments that were
more 'real'. It went much deeper into a narrower field of topics, all relating back to manned space
flight and the final Mars Mission concept of the summer academy.

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The first module of the VASTS online course acted as an introduction. We were taught
the basics of mission design and aerospace engineering. We learned about NASA's current space
exploration goals, as well as the history of not only NASA, but rocket science and space
exploration as a whole. The technical writing report for module one, each module requiring a
technical report as its major assignment, asked students to design a NASA mission. For this
assignment I simply proposed a run-of-the-mill mars probe, nothing special.
Module 2 was all about crew transport vehicles, the spacecraft that would ferry crew
from Earth to whatever the mission's destination may be. The topics discussed in the module
include the history and development of space shuttles as well as the contributions of international
partners and the budding aerospace industry of the private sector to transport vehicles. Extensive
details were offered into the design and functioning of crew transport vehicles, notably
propulsion, onboard systems, and risk management. Not surprisingly, the report for this module
mandated that students design their own crew transport vehicle and write a technical report
detailing the design. I designed a pretty standard crew transport vehicle, but I thought it was
fairly well done. Also in this module was an optional forum to discuss the ethics of engineering.
Although it was optional, everybody who really wanted to get into the summer academy was
advised to complete it because it helped show our intense interest. Summed up shortly, the
ethical code for engineers is: "Be honest and safety first".
Module 3 discussed the International Space Station and EVAs. The module informed
students about the types of scientific experiments conducted aboard the ISS, as well as the
intricacies of a space station EVA. Spinoff technologies were also briefly discussed in this
module. The technical paper for the third module was an analysis of the ethics of the Challenger

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Disaster. Basically the conclusion was that although the mission was cleared for launch, there
were many points along the line at which the disaster could have been prevented by one person
simply speaking up about a danger they recognized. This tied back to the ethics of engineering
forum from module 2, as a responsible engineer it is your duty not to allow a mission to proceed
when you know there will be excessive risk of failure. This, I'd like to note, was my best graded
report from the whole online course. Module 3 also included another optional forum on the topic
of spinoff technologies. From sunglasses to about thirty types of insulation, there are a
shockingly large number of consumer products based in the technology developed by the space
program.
Module 4 was all about the history of space stations. Students learned about all previous
Russian and American space stations and how these led to what we have today. The module
showed the process of constructing the space station from the very beginning, and offered
comparisons of each international partner's contribution to the station. The technical report for
module 4 involved designing an invention or innovation to assist astronauts during their EVAs on
the space station. The invention I came up with was utterly uninspired: just a little robotic drone
to help the astronauts during EVAs. Really boring and uncreative. I got a good grade on the
report though. Module 4 also included an optional forum discussing the impacts of commercial
partners with NASA, such as SpaceX and Orbital Science.
Module 5 went into even further detail on the ISS. It described to students the specific
components (e.g. labs and rooms) of the ISS. Module 5 went into much more depth about the
experiments run aboard the ISS, discussing short and long term scientific experiments conducted
on the space station. The module also went over the long and short term affects of microgravity

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on the human body. The technical writing report for module 5 involved selecting a previous ISS
experiment and redesigning it for a longer duration. I selected a mission where mice were used to
study the impacts of prolonged microgravity on mammals. I redesigned this experiment so that
rather than having adult mice experimented on, the mice were germinated from single cell to
death all aboard the station, to observe the effects of microgravity on mice exposed for their
whole lives. I thought this was a really interesting report and I enjoyed writing it.
Module 6 was a discussion of the moon! The module covered lunar geology, past NASA
missions to and involving the moon, and pertinent information to lunar base design such as
previous base designs and the potential for in-situ resource utilization, which is the use of
resources already present at the site of the mission. The report for this module was, predictably, a
design for a manned Luna Base. This was a really interesting report to write, as there was so
much to consider. I chose to set my design near the moon's North Pole, which would provide
more consistent solar exposure for solar panels to power the base. I had the base use lunar
regolith, dust and rocks from the surface, around its roof and walls as an additional barrier to
radiation. From a green house in the base to a mining operation to gather in-situ resources, I put a
lot of unique features in the base, which I like to think demonstrated the effort I put into its
design.
Module 7 was about unmanned, robotic missions to the red planet. Students were offered
an overview of the planet Mars, it's geology and such, followed by a detailed list of all past,
present, and potential future Mars missions by NASA and other space agencies. The report for
module 7 was to create a Con-Ops for a robotic mission to Mars of your own design. Con-Ops
stands for "Concept of Operations" and is basically a graphic/report that demonstrates the events

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of the mission, almost like a timeline. Additionally the report had to "Scope Out" the mission,
providing information about the mission objectives, mission users, and other critical aspects of
mission planning.
Module 8 instructed students about the important concepts of a manned mission to Mars.
Starting with a description of early designs of Mars missions, the module went on to cover topics
such as life support systems and hazards to communication, power generation and surface
transportation. Even robotic missions to Mars involve hundreds if not thousands of factors that
must be considered, and adding human beings to the mission increases this number many times
fold. The technical report of Module 8 was focused on identifying some of the risks involved in a
manned mission and discussing ways to manage these risks. If I recall correctly, this technical
report was particularly interesting because I had the opportunity to research radiation, potentially
the biggest and most unavoidable risk factor in any manned mission to go beyond the Earth's
atmosphere. Radiation, both solar and galactic, one of the few risks that space agencies admit
there is really no way to stop entirely.
The Final Project of the VASTS online course, taking the place of a final module, was an
extended technical report to design proposal for a Mars outpost design. Students has to detail
every aspect of the Mission from the location on the planet, to the number and demographics of
the crew, to the fuel the rocket would use. This was the culmination of the online course where
we had to put everything we learned over eight modules into action. My Mars outpost proposal
actually took the largest part of its inspiration from my module six lunar base design. Starting
from that design I customized the mission for the red planet. This report was pretty stressful to
write seeing that the stakes were so high, because it counted as 25% of our final grade for the

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course. However well you did on this report essentially determined your eligibility for the
summer academy. Through my immense efforts I was able to produce a stand up outpost design
proposal. Not only was I eligible for selection to attend the summer academy, I was indeed
selected!
After selection to attend one of the three summer academy sessions, each student got to
select their top three choices for which session they would attend and which team they wanted to
be a part of. The teams were five, as follows: Science and Surface Operations (SSO), in charge
of defining mission science goals and ensuring the mission is capable of carrying out these goals;
Human Factors, in charge of maintaining the safety and continued functionality of the astronauts
throughout the entire mission; Mission Transit, in charge of engineering the journey to and from
Mars as well as each descent, landing, etc.; Strategic Communication, in charge of raising public
support and awareness for the mission; and Mission Integration, in charge of organizing
everything, keeping all the parts together, and handling overarching issues such as crew selection
and various partnerships. My first choice was to be on the SSO team in the third session, and I
luckily got this first choice.
My VASTS summer academy experience began on a Saturday. Everyone scholar
scheduled for week three arrived for registration at Christopher Newport University (CNU),
dropped their stuff off in their dorms, and then headed over to the lecture hall for orientation. In
the lecture hall it was a good twenty or so minutes before the parents were released from their
meeting, so all of the scholars were mingling in the lobby. Mingling and talking to new people
makes me uncomfortable, so I went and stood near a corner with a group of boys who were also
standing awkwardly and not talking. Coincidentally when we did start talking more after a few

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minutes, we discovered that we were all in the same group, SSO. I thought to myself "I have
found my people." Shortly thereafter, we entered the chamber and received the VASTS
introduction. We were divided into our teams of twelve. SSO had six girls and six boys in the
ranks of its twelve members. In fact so did every team. This was actually the first time in VASTS
history that each team had half girls and half boys, and it was a complete coincidence! As a part
of the orientation, we did a team building activity where four of us ( myself included) were
blindfolded and asked to move a bucket using rope at the instruction of those who could see. Our
ropes broke and had to be fixed, but we got it done and I got to keep the bandanna. Soon after we
began mission work, which for our team was defining the science goals. We received a quick
lesson in Martian geology and studied the MEPAG goals until meal time. After the meal we
finalized our pre-academy assignment presentations with our partners until curfew.
Sunday: We gave our pre-assignment presentations first thing in the morning and then
continued science goals work until lunch. After lunch we attended an incredibly interesting
radiation seminar, so interesting in fact that almost half of us scholars stayed awake almost half
of the lecture. From then until dinner each group was supposed to do a MarsBound! Mission
Design Activity, but SSO had to finish defining the science goals and choosing a site, so we had
to work instead. After dinner, our counselors made us do icebreaker activities in the lawn
because they said we were the quietest group they had ever had and we either had no opinions or
were very uncomfortable. It was both for me, but mostly the former. I suppose the icebreakers
solved our problem because we made more and better progress afterwards. We finished defining
our science goals, and after a long process of considerations decided that we wanted to set our
mission's landing site in Valles Marinaris. We also had our position interviews, where our
specific job within SSO would be decided. My top choices were to be the power specialist and

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the mass budget specialist. The interview was very interesting, the Master Teacher for SSO and
the two SSO interns asked what seemed to me (and likely were) random questions, to check my
poise and my qualifications. It was quite a fun process.
Monday: We got up early to head over to the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC).
There wasnt enough room on the bus for all students, so six volunteers had to ride with Ian
Cawthray in the van. The six boys from SSO, myself included, volunteered to ride together in
the back of the van, a tradition that would continue every bus ride except for some of the last
few where mission leaders were required to ride in the Van. After breakfast we listened to a
lecture by the director of LaRC and the introductions of the mentors who would help us
throughout the week, then went back to the breakout rooms of LaRC to work on the mission. To
my great joy, I received my chosen position of power specialist. Work continued, hampered a
little by the email communication system that would only become more confounding as the
week went on. We could only communicate with other groups via sticky note mail that could
only be delivered every fifteen minutes. Each specialist set about his or her own work, and I set
about establishing a spreadsheet for our SSO power requirements. That night we had dinner at
the Virginia Air and Space Center, and then spent time exploring the center. This was something
special, because I had had no idea that they served food at the Virginia Air and Space Center. To
this day I am still unsure if it was an in house kitchen or catering, but it was really something
special. The free time after the meal helped out team get closer and get to know each other better
When we returned to CNU, we continued our work until we slept.
Tuesday: The final day Thursday rapidly approaching, the tension mounted. After
breakfast at the LaRC, we toured the Lightweight Surface Manipulator System and Lunar

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Habitat. It was interesting to see the robotic arm and all the layers of protection on the proposed
lunar habitat. We would adapt a version of the robotic arm for use on Mars. After this it was back
to work. I continued to help prod each other leg of the team along so that I could know what
equipment I needed to power. It was a struggle all around. I started meeting with other groups
power specialists, but I couldnt give them the numbers they needed because my team didn't
know what equipment we'd need to power yet. Wait! Hold on! Ill get them to you s soon as I
have them! That day we also had a lecture by delegate and inventor Joe May. Really an
inspiring story. Lunch that day was special, we had an Etiquette Luncheon where we were taught
how to eat in high society. Most of it was pretty simple stuff, however they made me hold my
knife in my right hand. My entire life I have held my knife in my left hand while eating, so it was
the most difficult part of the whole experience, having to cut my food holding my knife in my
right hand. After this affair ,work continued normally. Mission Transit erroneously believed they
could not land in Valles Marinaris, so we had to select a new landing site, Gale Crater. We also
were informed by Mission Transit of a Venus flyby, and decided to maybe drop a science payload
there.
Wednesday: The last day before final presentations, the mad dash. After breakfast at
LaRC, we toured the Materials and Fabrication building. The machines in that building were
amazing, ranging from a hydraulic cutter to an extremely precise robotic assembling arm. Once
we returned to the break out rooms, we continued to crunch down on our work. I did the best to
generate solid power figures from what we had, but I may or may not have had to embellish how
solid they were to the other power specialists who needed these numbers. I corrected all fallacies
later that night as our final figures emerged. After lunch we received a lecture from astronaut
Roger Crouch, a story even more inspiring the Joe Mays. Work continued for the rest of the day

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and deep into the night as we rushed to finalize all facts and figures for the big day. I was done
before most other people in my group and that felt weird. The whole time I really felt like I was
doing less and that my job demanded less than the other specialists' jobs, but the interns and
master teacher assured me I was doing fine. That day we had to practice delivering our
presentation. As the power specialist I had to talk for only about thirty seconds, and got asked no
questions which made me a lot less nervous for the final presentation.
Thursday: The day of the final presentation. We worked up until the last second finishing
and practicing our presentation. We were all prepared. Out immense preparation showed, and the
presentation for the panel went as smooth as it possibly could have. I personally said very little
and was asked no questions, as in the practice, which was a great relief. Some panelists said it
was the best SSO presentation theyd seen in their time with VASTS, and I feel that as the power
specialist I had less to do with that than anyone else on my team. After the presentations, we met
industry representatives and ate dinner. When we returned to the dorms, we heard a presentation
from the counselors and began preparing posters for the parents the next day. We got to go to bed
early this night, which was very nice after having to stay up to all hours working for the last
week.
Friday: The final day of VASTS, and the day of the closing ceremony. We got to the
LaRC and finished our poster for the parents. Then we went a toured the Impact Research
Facility, where NASA engineers smash objects into each other to test how they fair on impact.
We then returned to LaRC to present to our parents what we'd done for a week. After the closing
ceremony, I left NASA Langley with my father, bringing an end to my experience at the VASTS
summer academy.

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My Conclusion
When I returned to Ocean Lakes in the fall, it was a little while before I figured out
exactly what I would create as my final product. After weeks of discussion, three other VASTS
summer academy attendees agreed to work together to produce a miniature version of the
VASTS experience for the youth of Ocean Lakes High School. We all wanted to bring something
back, to use the wonderful experience of VASTS to contribute to the world. By simulating the
VASTS mission design structure as an activity for students in our school, we expected to increase
these students' interest in aerospace engineering and perhaps motivate and inspire these students
to pursue VASTS or other Virginia Space Grant Consortium programs, or simply to pursue
further studies into aerospace engineering.
It was awfully serendipitous that each of the four of us, Weston Mundy, Justin Theis,
Matthew Pieczynski, and myself, all came from different groups at VASTS, Mission Integration,
Human Factors, Mission Transit, and SSO respectively. This was very convenient because it
allowed for each of us to design the aspect of our miniature VASTS experience, which we were
by that point calling "Journey to Mars", that corresponded to our area of expertise during the
summer academy. We intentionally left out Strategic Communications from "Journey to Mars"
because we believed that because this would be a sort of after school event, there would not be
enough time or resources for a strategic communications team to effectively contribute to the
activity.
As planning commenced, I decided to, for our simulation of a simulation of a Mars
mission design process, boil SSO down to what I saw as the core concepts and main ideas of
what the group did at VASTS: defining the mission science goals, selecting a landing site, and

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designing the EVA suits and rovers. However, we each had enough mission jobs to occupy
between four and ten people, because we couldn't be sure how many would show up to our
event. We spoke with the leadership of the Astronomy Club and they agreed to "partner" with us,
and host our Journey to Mars event at an Astronomy Club meeting. The illustrious Mrs. Graves
helped us to secure time in the Dolphin Conference Center to stage our production, and also
helped us to acquire a laptop cart. We also created fliers to hang in the hallway to spread the
word of what was going down in the DCC on December 3rd.
When the day came, we had each part of Journey to Mars fully refined, and we were
ready for its execution. Let me be the first person to admit that fewer people showed up than we
had expected to. Nonetheless, we were prepared for crowds of all sizes and we were ready. We
allowed the attendants to select which of the four teams they wanted to join, as we had been able
to choose in VASTS. SSO only had three people in it, but this was enough, and one person was
assigned to each of the three key roles. Given that they were asked to do approximately what
took us a whole week in a little over an hour, they were resoundingly successful! At the end,
when each group had finished, they presented their work to a panel of "judges" composed of a
few other VASTS academy attendees who we recruited for this purpose. The whole event went
very well, and we were all proud of what our participants were able to accomplish.
Results
At the conclusion of Journey to Mars, we handed each participant a survey to fill out, to
rate their experience at Journey to Mars from one to five in five categories: personal enjoyment
and how much they learned with one being very little and five being very much, and how it
affected their interest in aerospace engineering, STEM fields, and Virginia Space Grant

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Consortium programs with one being the greatest decrease and five being the greatest increase.
The feedback from these surveys gave us an average score between four and five in all
categories, which indicates that our product was successful in engaging students and increasing
their knowledge of and interest aerospace engineering and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.
The most common comments we received about it were that it was very fun and educational, but
that it would have been improved by giving them more time. I completely agree that having
more time would have been a great benefit to the participants.
Reflection
I have been involved in this whole experience for over two years now, beginning halfway
through my sophomore year with VSCS and ending now as I turn this paper in. If I could go
back I would not change it. This has all honestly been some of the most fun I've ever had. As
well I learned a great deal from the online courses and summer academies, beyond simply
aerospace engineering knowledge. I learned a lot about working in a team in a professional
environment. I learned how to lead and how to follow. It was all very enriching and a great
addition to my high school education. Probably one of the most rewarding experiences I have
ever had, I would recommend VASTS strongly to any Sophomores/Juniors and VSCS to any
Freshmen/Sophomores even a little interested in aerospace science and engineering.

References

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Dunbar, B. (2008, December 23). NASA Awards Space Station Commercial Resupply Services
Contracts. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
"NASA Confirms Evidence That Liquid Water Flows on Todays Mars." (2015, September 28).
Retrieved October 19, 2015.
"NASA Spinoff." (2015). Retrieved October 28, 2015, from https://spinoff.nasa.gov/

Appendix A-D: Product Materials

Appendix E: Journey to Mars survey

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Appendix F: Survey Results

Appendix A

EVA Specialist

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As the EVA Specialist, your job will be to determine the equipment used
during sorties (journeys away from the surface base/outpost) and EVAs (Extra
Vehicular Activities). The most important aspect of these equipment will be the
manned rovers the astronauts use to commute while conducting sorties, and the
suits they must wear for protection while conducting EVAs. You're primary job
will be to design/select/modify appropriate gear for the mission.
Manned Rover:
A

as

manned rover will be the vehicle utilized by astronauts while

exploring and traversing the Martian terrain.
Seen to the left is an image of the moon rover,
a visual example of a rover. A mars rover would
need to be differently designed for the unique
conditions of Mars.
EVA Suit:

A space suit is an exterior garment worn by

from the hostile conditions of space.
Seen to the left is a spacesuit used in
Missions. A suit for astronauts on
to be uniquely designed for the
planet.

astronauts to protect them

the Apollo
Mars would need
conditions of the

Definitions:
EVA: Extra Vehicular Activity, conducted outside of the Earth's atmosphere, a
spacecraft, or an otherwise habitable environment.
Sortie: A short trip, as in a trip away from the surface base to collect
samples/explore sites of interest.
Appendix B

Science Return

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As the Science Return Specialist, you are charged with the mission critical
task of analyzing the NASA Mars Exploration Goals and the Mars Exploration
Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) goals document to determine the science goals
for this mission. Once Mission Science Goals are determined, you must use them
to determine Mission Objectives, which you will then use to determine specific
investigations, instrumentation, and measurements.
What Are Goals, Objectives, and Investigations:
Goal

Broadest possible definition of what you intend to

accomplish in the mission. (ex. "Understand the
processes and history of climate on Mars")
Objective More specific statements of what the mission must
accomplish.
(ex. "Derive atmospheric environment required for
sample formation")
Investigati Specific actions to be performed to accomplish goals
on
and objectives. (ex. "Determine the chemical makeup
and geophysical characteristics of surface samples to
derive the required environment. ")
MEPAG Goals Document:

(esp. pgs. 15,23,24,29,33,36,37,38)

http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/meeting/2015-02/10_Goals%202015%20MEPAG_v6.pdf

Alternate:
-Google "MEPAG Goals Document"
-Select the pdf "2015 MEPAG Goals Document - NASA"

Traceability Matrix:
The tool you will use to express your Missions Science Goals, Mission Objectives,
and Investigations is called a traceability matrix. Branching from left to right, the
matrix allows you to trace every investigation back to an objective, back to a
science goal. A blank matrix can be seen on the next page.
Appendix C

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Site Selection
As the Site Selection Specialist, you are charged with the mission critical
task of identifying a landing site on Mars that will maximize the potential for
science return. Potential sites should be analyzed according to their surface
morphology as well as chemical and mineral compositions.
Potential Sites:
Location

Latitu
de
Eberswalde Crater 23.895
3
Gale Crater
4.4868
Mawrth Vallis
23.988
3
Tharsis Montes
-6.52
Region

Longit
ude
326.74
26

Description

137.42
39
341.03
99
240.03

Wide crater with sedimentary deposits

and a high peak at its center

Large impact crater that may have

been a lake

Deep valley containing an ancient

water outflow channel
Three large shield volcanoes located
near the equator.

[These sites may be worth considering, but you must select whatever site on Mars
that would yield maximum science return.]
What to look for:
Feature
Sedimentary Deposits

Fluvial and Lacustrine Features

Phyllosilicates& Sulfate Bearing

Minerals

Indication
Evidence of presence of water in the
past. Water indicates potential for
past life.
Most likely location of fossils if there
are any.
River and lakes features. Indicate
presence of past water. Past water,
especially lakes and rivers, may
indicate potential past life.
These types of compounds contain
some of the materials necessary for

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Exposed Stratification

Igneous Rocks

life. Can also indicate past presence

of water.
Exposed stratification (e.g. the bands
in the side of a canyon) show the
formation and deposition of rock
overtime. Helps uncover geologic
past.
Evidence of volcanism.

[These presence or absence of these features in a site can be strong indicators of its
quality, but they are not the only factors that can and must be considered when
making the final decision.]
You must write a Landing Site Proposal in which you justify the reasons for
selecting the particular site you selected. Explain why it will yield the highest
science return, and relate it to the mission's chosen Science Goals, as determined
by the Science Return Specialist/s.

23 Simulation

Appendix D

Mission
Science
Goals

Mission
Objectiv
es

Investigati
ons

Instrumenta
tion

Measureme
nts

24 Simulation

Appendix E

Journey to Mars: Post Survey

Personal Enjoyment:
Least

5 Most

How much did you learn:

Nothing

5 A lot

How has this affected your interest in:

The Aerospace Industry
1

3Not at all 4

5Increse

3Not at all 4

5Increse

Decrease

STEM Fields
Decrease

Participating in Virginia Space Consortium Internships

1

Decrease

Comments/Suggestions:

3Not at all 4

5Increse

25 Simulation
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