Reflection Instructions
As in the previous Reflections, in this one you will again take on the part of your main character from the University of Mars game, and recall or build on the developing story and astronomy material in Unit 3.
Unit 3 covered stars — their formation, the processes which power them, and what remains when they expire — as well as planetary systems around other stars far beyond our Solar System, and the possibilities of life occurring elsewhere in the Universe. Your avatar and the characters of Linassa & Fabian hopped between nearby and distant stars and learned about some of the similarities and differences between them and our home system. You learned about three major categories of stars (mass ranges), and about what stellar properties may make some planetary systems more or less likely to be habitable.
You will also be working on “Art Project 3” around about the same time as this Reflection, so we will link the two somewhat. For Art Project 3 you are assembling data and observations on known or custom-created extrasolar planets, and imagining some kind of organism that could possibly live on the latter. Whereas your data and answers to questions in the project are more along the lines of presenting facts or speculations objectively, for this Reflection you’ll play the part of your University of Mars character as if you are the interstellar explorer actually discovering the extraterrestrial life described in the latter sections of the project.
This Reflection should be much easier to do if you either have already completed Project 3, or are at least working on it about the same time — specifically, you if have created your third, inhabited, custom planet (the section containing “Image 3”) and are imaging what kind of organisms may live there (“Image 4” and related questions). Your Unit 3 Reflection submission — which can be text, voice, or video recording, like before — should cover the following:
Describe the experience of discovering extraterrestrial life — as if you are narrating an “Explorer’s Log,” in first-person.
Note: The game’s Unit 3 presents a story about the lost creature nicknamed “Slurpy,” and your characters’ quest to return them to their home planet. Your “Explorer’s Log” in the Reflection above is not necessarily intended to have anything to do with “Slurpy” — it can be presented as an entirely separate adventure with your main character, Linassa, Fabian, Lerpz & company.
Submission, should be at least 550 words in length. Be creative! This assignment does not expect you to do any extra research; you can refer to the topics covered already in the game.
For full credit, your submission must include your 7-digit number identifier in the title (shown clearly at the top of the first page) and/or filename, and:
1. Meet the 500 – 800 word limit
2. Be presented as a first-person account of discovering extraterrestrial life on another planet — describing the planet’s environment, the creature(s) you found, their behaviors or reactions to you, and what you consider the possible impacts of your discovery;
3. Be interesting or entertaining for the reader or viewer, indicating that original thought and effort went into it
