Volume 9, Number 4 • July/August 2001 • Technology Transfer

Students Launch Mars VE

Top: Mars VE uses 3D software that simulates cutting-edge technology, allowing students to explore four landing sites on Mars “virtually”, choosing the best one to do their team’s experiment. Bottom: The Mars VE CD-ROM is an interactive multimedia project that allows students to understand basic concepts of space exploration and the search for life in the universe. Photo provided by Modern School Supplies, Incorporated.

Developed at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, California, Mars Virtual Explorer (Mars VE) takes students on a journey to the future.

The Mars VE CD-ROM is an interactive multimedia project that allows students to understand basic concepts of space exploration and the search for life in the universe. Expert mentors from NASA are available for students to consult in their research efforts.

Mars VE was produced by the NASA Ames Office of Education as part of an educational outreach. Laura Shawnee, Project Manager of Mars VE, said “we wanted to break down some of the barriers to getting more students involved in math and science, and take away some of the mystery … to make it more exciting for them.”

The program was also developed to give students insight into how NASA works, according to Shawnee. “We haven’t been to the planet Mars, other than Viking, so how would you explore a planet you haven’t been to before? What are the things you look for to determine if there may be life on the planet? Mars VE is trying to take some of that mystery away.”

MARS VE has been licensed and is being distributed by Modern School Supplies, Inc. of Bloomfield, Connecticut. According to George Herman, Chief Executive Officer of Modern, the program has been selling for about a year. “It takes a little while to build momentum in the educational market. We are trying to bring the program to more people. We have recently signed an agreement with the leading educational software distributor in the United Kingdom for them to carry Mars VE, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific will be carrying it in their catalog. It’s a wonderful product, and I want to get it to more people.”

To use the program, students work in teams and are assigned a research category. As their mission objective, they use 3D software that simulates cutting-edge technology to virtually explore four landing sites on Mars, choosing the best one to do their team’s experiment.

The idea behind Mars VE, Shawnee says, is to “make students comfortable with the scientific inquiry process and to have fun doing it.” Q

For more information, contact Modern School Supplies at & 800/243-2329, ext. 311, ) sales@modernss.com Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits