Macmillan Academy The Scholar Lab

Science · KS4 · investigation

Design a Mars Experiment

You're on the first crewed mission to Mars. Design an experiment you could actually run there — and defend it.

The challenge

Choose a scientific question you could investigate on the surface of Mars (for example: does temperature affect how fast a seed germinates? does a parachute work the same in the Martian atmosphere?).

Design a fair test to answer it. Mars is not the lab: gravity is about 0.38× Earth's, the atmosphere is thin carbon dioxide at under 1% of Earth's pressure, and the average temperature is around −60 °C.

Your write-up should name your independent, dependent and control variables, and explain how the Martian conditions force you to change the method you'd use on Earth.

How to get started

  1. State your question and a clear hypothesis (what you predict, and why).
  2. Identify the one thing you'll change (independent variable), the thing you'll measure (dependent variable), and everything you must keep the same (control variables).
  3. For each Martian condition — low gravity, low pressure, extreme cold — ask: does this change my apparatus, my measurements, or my safety?
  4. Explain how you'll make the result valid (actually answers the question) and reliable (repeatable).

Stuck? Open a hint

Try the challenge first — then reveal these one at a time.

Hint 1
Think about what physically behaves differently on Mars: water boils at a much lower temperature in low pressure; flames need oxygen; objects weigh far less but still have the same mass.
Hint 2
Change only ONE variable. If two things differ between your samples, you won't know which caused the result.
Hint 3
With only one rover and limited power, how will you get repeats? Could you run the test several times, or several samples at once?

Take it further

Rewrite your design as a formal protocol — a numbered procedure precise enough that an astronaut could follow it without you there.

Stretch your physics on real exam-style questions at Isaac Physics.

Produce & share

Make something: Write up your experiment as a formal protocol: your question and hypothesis, your variables, a labelled diagram of the apparatus, and how the Martian conditions changed your method.

When it's ready, email your work to Mr King. The best pieces may be featured in the student showcase.

What you'll practise

Experimental design, identifying and controlling variables, validity and reliability, and applying physics to unfamiliar conditions.