Mars Resources

Explore this page for a curated collection of resources, including activities that can be done at home, as well as videos, animations, printable graphics, and online interactives. This resource package is suitable for educators, students, and anyone interested in learning more about Mars!

A dark brown sandy landscape is shown with rocks of varying sizes interspersed. Lighter brown sand is shown higher up the slope.

Animations and Videos

A small helicopter sits on the surface of Mars

Mars Report: The Most Extreme Flights of NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter

Discover how NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter pushed aerodynamic limits during the final months of its mission, setting new records for speed, distance, and altitude.

A small helicopter sits on the surface of Mars

NASA Science Live: Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Tribute & Legacy

With 72 successful flights, NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter far surpassed its originally planned technology demonstration of up to five flights. Learn more about the legacy of this historic mission.

This image shows an artist concept of NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution MAVEN mission.

The Day the Solar Wind Disappeared from Mars

Learn about the "disappearance" of the solar wind (a stream of charged particles constantly emanating off the Sun) at Mars, as observed by NASA's MAVEN spacecraft.

Mars rover sitting on the red soil of mars and facing the camera for a selfie

Curiosity Rover's Most Challenging Climb Yet

NASA's Curiosity rover completed a pretty challenging climb on Mars in the summer of 2023. Curiosity faced a steep, slippery slope on its journey up Mount Sharp, so rover drivers had to come up with a creative detour.

A grey textured surface is shown with 13 different location pins dropped throughout. The text "THE STORIES MARS ROCK SAMPLES COULD TELL" is overlain on the surface.

Mars Rock Samples: The Stories They Could Tell

Discover the secrets that we could unravel by studying Mars samples in state-of-the-art labs on Earth.

Artist concept of sample return rocket launching from Mars

Bringing Mars Rock Samples Back to Earth

Learn how NASA and the European Space Agency are developing plans for bringing the first samples of Mars material safely back to Earth.

Selfie photo of red-dust covered lander showing the top and its solar panels

Hear Meteoroid Striking Mars, Captured by NASA's InSight Lander

NASA's InSight lander detected seismic waves from a meteoroid and captured the sound of the space rock striking the surface of Mars for the first time.

This selfie was taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover. Varying shades of red and brown rocks are visible below a dusty atmosphere.

What NASA's Curiosity Rover Has Learned in Over 10 Years of Exploring

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover set out to answer a big question when it landed on the Red Planet more than 10 years ago: Could Mars have supported ancient life?

The text "SAM 10 Years at Gale Crater: Sample Analysist at Mars" is written over a reddish-brown surface.

SAM: 10 Years at Gale Crater

Learn about the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on NASA's Curiosity rover, which "tastes" rocks to find out what they're made of.

A robotic arm is shown protruding at the right, over a dark brown and light brown sandy and rocky surface.

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Finds A Changing Landscape

Take a look at the view from inside Gale crater as NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover explores a changing landscape.

Rover sitting on Mars covered in dust.

Ancient Organics Discovered on Mars

Learn about NASA's Curiosity Mars rover's discovery of ancient organic molecules on Mars.

A red-brown crusty and rocky surface is shown with a drill hole at the bottom center.

Curiosity Rover Finds New Clues to Mars' Watery Past

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has discovered lots of evidence of ancient lakes on the Red Planet.

The text "IS THERE WATER ON MARS?" is shown on a white background.

Is There Water on Mars? We Asked a NASA Scientist

Is there water on Mars? There sure is! It's not exactly like water on Earth, but Martian water can tell us a lot about the planet's distant past.

A reddish brown pockmarked surface is shown with a hazy orange glow emanating from its upper limb. A bright yellow-white circle hovers above the surface.

Is There Life on Mars? We Asked a NASA Scientist

NASA Goddard astrobiologist Heather Graham discusses the search for ancient life on Mars.

A red-brown surface is shown with cross-hatched patterns. Two light blue patches are shown at the bottom right, as well as one light blue patch at the upper left.

How Scientists Study Wind on Mars

Learn how scientists study wind and dust on Mars and how doing so will help future spacecraft and human missions.

artist's illustration of molecules hovering over the surface of Mars

Mars in a Minute Video Series

Explore this series of clips about a variety of Mars-related topics including landing on Mars, "marsquakes," and driving a rover on Mars.

comic book style illustration of MAVEN in Mars orbit

MAVEN Explores Mars to Understand Radio Interference at Earth

Discover what NASA's MAVEN spacecraft is learning by studying the atmosphere of Mars.

A sphere with red and blue splotches is shown. Wispy clouds of white are spread over its surface.

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio's Mars Gallery

Explore this gallery for videos and animations relating to Mars science and missions.

Activities

Animation of a woman spinning the wheels of a cardboard rover, with a larger model rover in the background.

Construct a Cardboard Rover

In this challenge, you will build your own rubber-band-powered rover that can scramble across a room. Use the engineering design process to improve your rover based on testing results.

Note: This activity is also available in Spanish.

image grid showing 6 different types of rocks

Describe Rocks Like a NASA Scientist

Learn how to describe rock samples like a NASA scientist. Then, take a quiz to see if you can match edible rocks made of candy bars – and real rocks from Earth and space – to the correct description.

A series of three images showing steps on how to make a volcano.

Make a Volcano

Explore how volcanoes can form on different planets in our solar system by creating your very own out of play dough, baking soda, and vinegar!

A sandstone peak is shown beneath a cloudy grey sky.

Cloudspotting on Mars

Help scientists find exotic clouds high in the Martian atmosphere.

A coloring page with three different rovers shown.

Rovers of the Solar System

A coloring and activity booklet featuring past, present, and future rovers across the solar system. Grab your coloring tools and let's see what you create!

MAVEN and Curiosity Rover Coloring Sheet

Download a coloring sheet of NASA's MAVEN orbiter and Curiosity Mars rover working together at Mars.

Coloring sheet showing a rover on Mars, with tire tracks trailing behind it.

Mars Curiosity Rover Coloring Sheet

Download and color this Curiosity Mars rover coloring sheet.

Coloring sheet showing a spacecraft orbiting above a planet's surface.

MAVEN at Mars Coloring Sheet

Download and color this MAVEN orbiter coloring sheet.

An animation of a person dropping a paper helicopter which then spins as it falls to the wooden floor.

Make a Paper Mars Helicopter

Build your own paper helicopter. Then, just as NASA engineers had to try out different versions of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter before coming up with a final design, you will experiment with the design of your helicopter to see what works best.

Topographical image of Gale Crater, shown in all white.

3D Models of Mars Sites & Missions

Browse these interactive 3D models of a variety of Martian features and Mars missions.

Online Interactives

A screenshot of the Mars Science Laboratory surface experience tool showing a model of the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars.

Explore with Curiosity – Surface Experience

This tool places you right in Gale Crater on Mars, the landing site of NASA's Curiosity rover. Explore the region in a 3D environment by clicking around and seeing images taken by Curiosity.

A map of the surface of Mars, with a squiggly line with small white dots showing the path of the Curiosity rover.

Where is NASA's Curiosity Rover?

This interactive map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity rover since landing in Gale Crater on August 5, 2012. Explore Curiosity's current location on Mars!

A rover sits on a sandy surface, with another smaller spacecraft in front.

Take a 3D Spin on Mars and Track NASA's Perseverance Rover

This interactive 3D experience shows NASA's Perseverance rover on the surface of Mars.

A zoomed in view of the surface of Mars. Two blue ice cream cone-shaped location icons are shown, one with a helicopter symbol on it and the other with a rover symbol.

Where is NASA's Perseverance Rover?

This interactive map shows the current locations of both NASA's Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

Screenshot from the Mars Trek tool, showing a flat horizontal view of Mars' red-brown surface.

NASA Solar System Treks

NASA Solar System Treks are online, browser-based portals that allow you to explore the surfaces of other worlds using real data returned from a growing fleet of spacecraft. Visit Mars now!

Additional Resources

A rover is shown in front of a bright yellow-white light.

Curiosity: Over 10 Years of Martian Mountain Climbing

Since landing on Mars in August 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring the 3-mile-high Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater. Explore the rover's accomplishments so far with this poster.

drawing of a waveform emanating from planet Mars

Sounds of Mars

Ever wonder how you would sound on Mars? Grab your headsets, turn up the volume and listen for the subtle differences between the sounds on Earth versus how they would sound on Mars.

Four thin curved lines are shown at the left, changing in color from light blue to dark blue. The text "on a mission" is written at the bottom. The NASA logo is positioned at the upper right.

Digging In: When Rovers Get Dirt on Mars

Learn about rover drilling on Mars in this episode of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's "On a Mission" podcast.

image of a central pit of an impact crater in the Martian ancient highlands

"Mars As Art" Collection

Browse an online Martian art gallery.