Interactive Mapping of Mars (iMARS): A New Interactive Online Educational Resource

Gordon R Osinski1, Melissa Battler2, Tanya N Harrison2, Eric Pilles1, Haley M Sapers3 and Livio L Tornabene2, (1)University of Western Ontario, Earth Sciences, London, ON, Canada, (2)University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, (3)University of Western Ontario, Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration, London, ON, Canada

Contact First Author: Gordon R Osinski; gosinski@uwo.ca

Previously Published Material: iMARS has been presented at two conferences in the past year.

Abstract ID#: 35263

 

English Abstract:
One of the major goals of The Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX; http://cpsx.uwo.ca) at The University of Western Ontario is to strengthen and grow the Canadian and international space community through inspiring and training the next generation of scientists and engineers. With funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada’s PromoScience program and support from the Department of Earth Sciences at Western, the CPSX has developed a new web-based initiative called Interactive Mapping of Mars (iMARS). The centrepiece of the iMARS program is an interactive online activity in which users conduct and eventually plan missions to the Mars. To do so requires an understanding of the various landforms or features that shape the surface of Mars. iMARS integrates learning about the surface of Mars with the mission planning so that knowledge is gained in a fun and immersive way. Upon creating a simple login, users plan a series of series of increasingly complex mission scenarios, be-ginning with “Search for Ancient Riverbeds”. Users collect badges along the way for successful completion of individual missions (Fig. 3). Ultimately, users are able to select and plan their own mission. Some key aspects are iMARS are: 1) users will learn the educational material as they go along, and earn rewards along the way; each mission will be designed to be only a few minutes long, to keep them interested and the missions as a whole will be designed to teach all of the surface features; they will get reward badges displayed in their user profile for accomplishments; after successfully accomplishing a number of missions, participants can design their own, with options including rover platform, etc. Training in image analysis and the recognition of landforms is provided through the Tutorial and Feature Example Pages. Once a mission is “launched,” a mission control blog provides updates on the status of a mission and a “choose your rover” option provides the opportunity to unlock more advanced rovers by collaborating with other scientists and rating their missions.
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