CMS students modeled the Martian
terrain inside shoe boxes using rocks, cardboard, Styrofoam cups,
aluminum foil and glue. They then sealed the boxes, traded with those
from other teams, and attempted to determine the topography of the
hidden surface. Using metal rods calibrated in centimeters and a
graph paper coordinate system, they probed through the box lids and
determined the topography of the simulated Martian surface. They then
entered the data into spreadsheet format and used NIH Image to render
the data into 3-D like images of the surface - thereby modeling the
laser mapping of Mars by the Mars Global Surveyor.
