Mission: Solar System
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Hands-on
Challenges -
Soft Landing
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Robo Arm
Inspector Detector
Design and build a device that can pass above a surface and detect magnetic fields.
People love treasure hunts. But in this one, kids are looking for something invisible! In this video, kids design and build magnetic-field detectors and use them to find hidden magnets. The video shows kids using the engineering design process, applying a variety of science concepts (e.g., force, magnetic fields, mapping), and learning about how a planet's or moon's magnetic field gives NASA scientists insights into its structure and how it formed.
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Related Activity
Inspector Detector
Want to do this challenge with kids? Download the leader notes and handout.
Download (PDF)
Related NASA Video
Measuring Magnetic Fields
See colorful animations of a planetary magnetic field and learn how spacecraft measure it.
Download video (4 MB)
Watch now on NASA
Related Engineer Video
Tracy Drain
NASA flight systems engineer Tracy Drain explains that her role on the Juno spacecraft team was to keep the mission problem-free by tracking all the details so that nothing could fall through the cracks or be forgotten. Watch now
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Download Exploring the Solar System poster (PDF).
Print it at a copy shop.