ONLINE: Countdown to Mars: Perseverance

×

Expand

NASA/JPL-Caltech

This illustration depicts NASA's Perseverance rover operating on the surface of Mars. Perseverance will land at the Red Planet's Jezero Crater a little after 2:40 p.m. CST on Feb. 18, 2021. For more information about the mission, go to https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/.

It's not every day that a vessel from Earth lands on Mars. But things are on track for that rare occurrence, with NASA's latest mission expected to land and launch the new Perseverance rover on Thursday. Discovery Education is partnering with NASA for this special free livestream presentation, designed for schools but open to all, which will provide some background on the project and also a look at the landing itself as it happens. Register here.

media release: On February 18, 2021, NASA’s Perseverance rover is set to touch down on Mars and begin exploration of the Red Planet. To commemorate this historic occasion, Discovery Education—the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms—is partnering with NASA to bring students worldwide a special no-cost livestream of this momentous event.   

This special livestream of the Perseverance rover’s landing on Mars is scheduled to begin on Thursday, February 18 at  2:15 p.m. ET.  Featuring insights from NASA experts and a behind-the-scenes look at the activities of the Perseverance mission control team, the livestream will culminate with the rover’s real-time touchdown on Mars. To register to attend this event, visit Discovery Education’s Mars Landing Livestream homepage. 

In addition to the livestream, Discovery Education and NASA are making available exclusive resources supporting the integration of NASA’s latest mission to Mars into classroom instruction.  Among these helpful resources is a 3-2-1 Pyramid graphic organizer to help educators build students’ summarization and critical thinking skills while watching the Countdown to Mars livestream.  Another resource available to support educators sharing this event with students is a ready-to-use Studio Slideshow.  Using this Slideshow, educators can fuel student interest in space, build knowledge, and check for understanding about relevant topics.  These resources and others being made available to educators and students are designed to be used in any learning environment and can be found on Discovery Education’s Mars Landing Livestream homepage. 

“Space exploration has the unique ability to inspire students’ imaginations, especially in the fields of STEM,” said Mike Kincaid, NASA’s Associate Administrator for the Office of STEM Engagement. “We’re excited to partner with Discovery Education to bring the extraordinary innovation of the Mars 2020 Landing to students nationwide.” 

Following the Perseverance rover’s landing on Mars, the livestream will be archived on Discovery Education’s award-winning learning platform in the Explore Space with NASA and Mars channels. Discovery Education’s flexible K-12 platform connects educators to a vast collection of compelling high-quality, standards-aligned content, ready-to-use digital lessons, and professional learning resources. Together, these resources give educators everything they need to facilitate instruction in any learning environment and create lasting educational impact. 

Discovery Education’s team continues adding, contextualizing, and organizing exciting new content and timely resources to the platform each month in response to current events and the ever-evolving needs of educators. These resources, sourced from trusted partners, are aligned to state and national standards, and help educators bring the outside world into teaching and learning every day. 

Finally, the Discovery Education platform is designed to work within school systems’ existing infrastructure and workflows. Through expanded partnerships with Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Schoology, Canvas, Clever and others, integrating the Discovery Education platform into existing IT architecture is easier than ever. 

“Discovery Education is thrilled to partner with NASA to bring the landing of the Perseverance rover on Mars to students worldwide,” said Scott Kinney, Chief Executive Officer of Discovery Education. “Events like this take students to places they could never visit and help them see the ‘real world’ applications of what they are learning in the classroom while also driving deeper engagement and, ultimately, higher academic achievement.” 

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital resources and professional learning services, visit www.discoveryeducation.com and stay connected with Discovery Education on social media through Twitter and LinkedIn.