Introduction
One of the biggest challenges to living on Mars is water—there just isn’t a lot of it! The majority of the planet is covered in desert. While there is evidence that liquid water once flowed on the surface of Mars, most of the known water on the planet is frozen at the north and south poles.
Since most human settlements will be started closer to the equator where it is warmer, far separated from water, one idea is to build a fleet of water-retrieving robots. Human settlers could mount an expedition to the pole, marking a safe route there and back. Then, they could program robots to make the trip by themselves, crawling across the Martian surface, collecting ice chunks from the pole, and returning to the settlement.
Objectives
- Practice writing movement code to move Codey Rocky precisely across a map.
- Practice troubleshooting when problems arise.
- Use a loop to repeat Codey Rocky’s ice-gathering actions.
Sensors and Equipment
This experiment features the following sensors and equipment. Additional equipment may be required.
Ready to Experiment?
Ask an Expert
Get answers to your questions about how to teach this experiment with our support team.
- Call toll-free: 888-837-6437
- Chat with Us
- Email support@vernier.com
Purchase the Lab Book
This experiment is #3 of Coding with Codey Rocky: Mission to Mars. The experiment in the book includes student instructions as well as instructor information for set up, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data.
