Cultivating Mars: A Project-Based Learning Lab Analyzing an Oxygen Based Redox Reaction in Order to Design an Oxygen-Rich Environment on the Red Planet

In a series of activities/labs, designed in a building block approach, whereas each subsequent lab builds into the next, students will explore the reactivity and production of oxygen in various biological and chemical systems. Through student-constructed analyses, participants will optimize oxygen-generating systems for the colonization of Mars, wherein their system will be used as part of a narrative to construct a livable habitat for future astronauts. Use of remote access technology to a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) with elemental analysis capabilities allows students to investigate their oxygen reaction via formation of iron oxide, resulting in rich multidimensional and contextualized scientific exploration in the chemistry classroom.