Trawers for teachers

Use Trawers, a free 3D browser game on the real Mars, to teach scale, maps, coordinates and planetary science. No installation, no accounts needed, free for schools.

Trawers is a free, browser-based model of the real Mars at real scale. Students land at real mission sites, drive a rover over real terrain and see how big the planet really is. It works on school computers and Chromebooks with a modern browser, needs no installation and no student accounts.

Educational use is and will stay free.

Why it works in class

• Real data, real scale. The map is built from public orbital imagery and elevation data. Distances, heights and coordinates are real.
• Concrete numbers. Students experience why rovers take years to cover a few dozen kilometres and why a lap of Mars is so long.
• Real missions. Nine real landing sites, real rover routes and panoramas from Perseverance and Curiosity at the places where they were taken.

Lesson ideas

1. How big is Mars? (maths, ages 10+)

Students land at Jezero Crater and drive to the crater rim. They note the distance and time, then estimate how long a lap of Mars would take at that speed. Compare with the real rover in How long would it take to drive around Mars?

2. Reading a planetary map (geography, ages 10+)

Using the coordinates shown in the game, students find the nine landing sites and mark them on a blank map. Why are they mostly near the equator or in the northern lowlands? Background: every Mars landing site on one map.

3. Mars vs Earth (science, ages 11+)

Students switch on the weather layer and record temperature and pressure at two landing sites, one near the equator and one in the arctic. Compare with Mars vs Earth.

4. Why can't we drive a rover live? (physics, ages 12+)

Calculate the signal delay between Earth and Mars at the closest and farthest points, then plan a rover route in the game without driving it directly. Background: how Mars rovers are driven.

5. How do we map another planet? (science and technology, ages 13+)

Compare the global map with the high-resolution areas around Jezero and Gale. What can you see at 6 m per pixel that you cannot at 100 m per pixel? Background: how maps of Mars are made.

Tips for teachers

• Players can start as guests, so no email addresses are needed.
• Chat in the game uses only ready-made phrases, and offensive nicknames are filtered automatically.
• For a group activity, students can create a team and work towards a shared distance.

Questions or ideas for using Trawers in teaching? Get in touch via the press and contact page.