Day 4 Working on our Project

Today we analyzed our data that we collected, and created a presentation of our research. We shared our findings with three scientists from ASU, who gave us feedback about our research that we will use to write our final paper. After we took photos in front of a life size model of the curiosity rover and had a celebratory dinner at the Raw Hide Steakhouse!

Day 3 Arizona State University

Today we began our work at the Mars Flight Facility. We refined our science question and collected data using a program called JMars. After we went to Papago Park, had a tour of the geology, and went hiking.

Day 2 Meteor Crater and Petrified Forest

We also walked through the beautiful colors of the painted desert.

We visited the Petrified Forest and saw lots of colorful wood that has been turned to stone.

Slide Rock and Grand Canyon Group Photo

Slide Rock

Sunset at the Grand Canyon

Day 1 (Slide Rock)

Slide rock is a popular spot to swim in the summer for Sedonians (Sedonanites?).  This time of year however, it is rather cold with all of its water originating from the plateau above.  The park is on what was originally a homestead owned by the Pendley family.

Day 1 (Sedona)

On our way up to the Grand Canyon, we stopped to enjoy the sights of Sedona and eat lunch at the Red Planet Diner.  The red rock formations surrounding the town are truly a sight to behold! The picture above is called bell rock (do you see it?).

Day 1

On our first day we visited Montezuma Castle.  These ruins were once a village of the Sinagua people.  Though only a small portion of the village remains, there were once several other levels connected by ladders all along the rock face.

Busy Busy Busy!

It's been a busy past three days!  Our flight from Syracuse made a stop in Chicago before making its way down to Arizona.  During the flight the group enjoyed a beautiful view from above partly cloudy skies.

Journey to Mars

Welcome to the Mars Mission. We are a group of high school students studying about the planet Mars. Specifically, we are looking at lava tubes associated with volcanoes. We have submitted a proposal to work with some NASA scientists at Arizona State University and to take a picture of Mars using the THEMIS camera on board the Odyssey Spacecraft. We are waiting to hear back from the scientists about our project and if we can take a picture.

In February we will travel to Arizona to work and learn more from the scientists about lava tubes on Mars. We will also get to visit some interesting sites like: the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Montezuma's Castle and even an open pit copper mine. Follow along with us on our trip and we will post daily updates about the things we are seeing and learning.