What is MSIP?

NASA and Arizona State University's Mars Education Program is offering students nationwide the opportunity to be involved in authentic Mars research by participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP).  
MSIP Video
 
NASA and Arizona State University's Mars Education Program is offering students nationwide the opportunity to be involved in authentic Mars research by participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP). Teams of students in grades 5 through college sophomore level will have the opportunity to work with scientists, mission planners and educators on the THEMIS team at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility, to image a site on Mars using the THEMIS visible wavelength camera onboard the Mars Odyssey spacecraft which is currently orbiting Mars every 2 hours.

National Science Education Standards-aligned MSIP curriculum has been developed to assist the lead adult facilitators of student teams. The curriculum is designed to fit within existing science curriculum and teach the already required objectives and standards using real world science instead of worksheets or simulations. Involved students teams can participate in one of three formats for image reception activities:

  • On-site at the Mars Space Flight Facility – Tempe, AZ (MAP)
  • Distance-Learning
  • Archived-data

There is no charge to participate in MSIP!

Getting Started

Getting started

Submit an application.

Work with staff at Arizona State University's Mars Space Flight Facility to help guide you with a schedule that would work with your particular classroom situation and time frame.

Incorporate hands-on activities that will assist your students in developing their project (available from the MSIP site).

Participate in optional monthly teleconferences/video-conferences to increase teacher and student background knowledge about Mars

For On-Site and Distance Learning teams, submit a Proposal to Arizona State University or for Archived teams, conduct research using archived THEMIS images. This is not an all-inclusive list. For additional details on the different MSIP formats of participation and teacher checklists, see the activity format page.

MSIP Applications and Forms

Please select a format in which you would like to download the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) Application:

Sign up for a MSIP Conference:

Other MSIP Forms:

MSIP FAQ's