6. Mitigate Hazards for Your Mission

Setup: Prep Time 50 min.

• Combine Decks B, C, D, and E.

*See Materials & Preparation in the Educator Guide linked above for full info.

21st Century Skills

• Creativity

Science Practices

• Engaging in Argument from Evidence

Learners Will Do

• Choose a mission to plan.
• List mission hazards and ways to mitigate them.

Learners Will Know

• Scientists predict hazards in an area they want to study, and think about ways to mitigate them.

Connecting Across Adventures

• Adventure 5: Hazards in Space: Last time, learners learned that hazards also exist in space, some are the same as they are on Earth, and some are different.
• Adventure 6: Mitigate Hazards for Your Mission: Today, learners choose a NASA mission and think about the hazards, mitigation strategies, and other factors NASA should consider.
• Adventure 7: Science Share-Out: Next time, learners will share their proposed mission strategy with members of their community.

Level Up! (Optional)

• Allow learners to design a mission that involves using NASA science and engineering to solve a problem in their community. Provide them with Science Activity 6 Mission 5 Handout (PDF).
• The Curiosity Rover encounters a lot of rocks while it’s roving around on Mars. NASA designed the wheels of the next Curiosity-type rover, Perseverance, differently to try to mitigate this rocky hazard! Check out this article from when Perseverance was fitted with its new shoes before launch: NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Gets Its Wheels and Air Brakes.
• Ask these story prompt questions: Why is it important to share ideas? When have you shared your ideas before (for example, with family or community members)? Have learners share with a partner. Tell learners, if anyone asks them what they did today, they can tell them “We made a plan to mitigate the hazards on a space mission” and ask them the above story prompt questions. Consider returning to learners’ ideas at the start of the next adventure. (5 min.)