Mission 5: Life on Mars
The last task is to think about how you would build a safe and good society on Mars, both for yourself and for those you are sharing the planet with.
Space task
What do you know about life in space and research on Mars?
Leia and the tardigrades were the first beings to arrive on Mars. No one had settled there before. Later, beings arrived from all over the solar system, with different experiences and ideas about how they want to live. The more beings arrive, the greater the need for law and order, schools, healthcare and other necessary things for life to function. The inhabitants of Mars need to cooperate if they are to build a good society. This is not always easy, because everyone has different opinions about what a good society is.
Your task is to think about how you would build a safe, good society on Mars. First, you need to answer a few questions.
Read chapter 5 of Leia and the tardigrades crack the Space Code – student material and answer the questions below.
Questions to answer
Is there life in space?
Space robots were the first to land on the surface of Mars. What are the Curiosity and Insight doing on Mars
Why was Obi so grumpy after he went shopping?
Something to think about
If you had travelled with Leia and the tardigrades and had the task of settling on Mars, what would you need to live on the planet? Write a list of the five most important things you think you need. Draw and describe.
Social task
Building a society where we thrive
Your task is to think about what you think a good society should be like. Do this task in groups, so you can help each other and discuss what is necessary to build a society.
Use the following questions to help you:
How can the tardigrades, Leia and all the beings on Mars agree on how things should be run on the planet?
What rules are needed for them to be happy
How are the people who decide appointed?
Take a big piece of paper. Draw and write what you would do to build a society on Mars, with rules and agreements. For example, would you allow human rights to apply to all beings? If so, explain which of them and what this means. When you have finished, put your paper up in the classroom and tell your classmates how you reasoned.