Virtual Field Trip: Let's Explore Mars!
Join me on a truly out of this world virtual field trip sketching the Martian landscape!
Let’s see how many different reds we can use to depict the Red Planet as we explore the astrobiology of Mars aboard the Mars Curiosity and Perseverance Rovers. We’ll also dive into the natural history of the dunes and weather, and learn about space travel . . . all from the comfort of your Earth studio!
Sketch along or just observe, I’ll narrate as I go to demonstrate why I choose to focus on what subjects and how to quickly capture them in your field notebooks and nature journals.
Length: 1.5 hours (although it might go a little over)
Resources from the Workshop
Google Mars Interactive View:
https://www.google.com/maps/space/mars/@0,-110.9387418,22963938m/data=!3m1!1e3
NASA Mars Science:
Astrobiology:
METADATA AND NATURE DATA for MARS:
Location: Gale Crater
Latitude: -4.521663 degrees S
Longitude: 137.38952 degrees W
Elevation: -4,501 meters (-2.8 miles)
Low: -105 degrees F
High: 9 degrees F
Sunrise: 0530 am
Sunset: 0630 pm
Two moons:
Phobos (largest moon) has a transit of 66 hours
Deimos has a transit of 10 hours
ROSEANN’S FIELD NOTES PAGES from THE WORKSHOP:
You can find my list of minimalist colors and tips on color mixing here: https://www.exploringoverland.com/field-arts-tutorials-list/2020/7/5/minimalist-watercolor-for-nature-journaling
participants’ field notes pages:
Curiosity landing site in Gale Crater; path of the rover as of today.
Jezero Crater; Perseverance landing site.
Blue sunset.
Mars “blueberries,” average 2.7 mm in diameter.
DARE MIGHTY THINGS
The Perseverance parachute design contains binary code with two messages: “Dare Mighty Things” —the motto of the mission — and the JPL address in Pasadena.
Far better is it to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs,
even though checkered by failure . . .
than to rank with those poor spirits
who neither enjoy nor suffer much,
because they live in a gray twilight that
knows not history nor defeat.
– Theodore Roosevelt
