Mars

Next, kids are invited to take a trip to Mars. What are the must-see sites? What should be avoided? Volcanoes, craters, sand dunes, canyons, and canals are musts. Dust storms and extremes of weather are not. A succinct timeline catalogues significant events in Mars exploration from the 1960s through 2020 and beyond. At the same time, kids explore scientific investigations for making food, water, and oxygen available to future inhabitants from Earth.

Next-gen meteorologists will be fascinated to discover that the Dry Valleys of Antarctica are the most Mars-like spots on Earth and among the places where NASA and other space groups test robot rovers. Astronomers and astronauts of the future will delve into the many images of Mars made available through the latest instruments and imagine themselves prowling the planet. At the same time, creatives will find inspiration in the history of Martian films and novels, from the original War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells, 1898) to The Martian (2015) about an astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars. It’s all right here for the taking.