Mars Rover Guidance

Your objective is to remotely navigate a Mars rover between specific points on a rocky terrain. Students will utilize the Pythagorean theorem, angle estimation, and the laws of sine, cosine, and tangent to calculate the distance and direction of the rover.

Big Idea:

  • You can use the Pythagorean Theorem to calculate the hypotenuse of a right triangle.
  • Communicating with objects in space involves a delay due to the limited speed that light/radio waves travel.
  •  If you know the two of the side lengths of a right triangle you can use trigonometry to figure out the measurement of the missing angles.

Related Lesson Plans – These have helpful guides and printable resources to help with your Defined projects. They can be used independently or as a supplement to a Defined project.