Geometry of Exploration: Water below the Surface of Mars? NASA Connect: Program 3 in the 1999-2000 Series.

This teaching unit is designed to help students in grades 4-8 explore the concepts of geometry in the context of space navigation. The units in this series have been developed to enhance and enrich mathematics, science, and technology education and to accommodate different teaching and learning styles. Each unit consists of a storyline presenting the context for the problems to be solved, lists of the mathematics and science concepts addressed, background notes for the teacher, a list of teacher resources, and an activity complete with blackline masters. Also included are suggestions for extensions to the problems and their relationship to national mathematics standards. The story line for this unit is students learning how engineers and scientists are using geometry and the solar system to navigate spacecraft to Mars. (MM)