2018 #TrainLikeAMartian Day 5 Challenge: Explore and Discover!

It’s Day 5 of the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Friday May 18, 2018

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our Live Blog Post updated daily here.

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far check out the event hashtag here!

This is the last day of this 5-day challenge! The focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEAM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp.

Every day during the challenge we will post the #TrainLikeAMartian fitness challenge, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activity and a bio-hack challenge. You can participate in any or all of the challenges. Join us today and let’s all have some fun!

You must sign up here and follow the challenge rules to qualify to win prizes.

For every $25 donated, donor gets one entry in the daily prize drawing for #TrainLikeAMartian! Please make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000.

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 5 Fitness Challenge: Explore and Discover

Our focus today is to improve your agility, coordination and speed! For this challenge you be carrying weighted objects from the Exploration area back to your Base Station to improve Anaerobic and Aerobic fitness. This could be done with lifting weights, or setting up a course with heavy household objects. Remember to lift carefully and check out the mission briefing below for more tips and advice on this activity.

See how you do with getting up and down and how fast you can finish your own course. Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Watch the video here or Click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program. Resources include detailed educational guides for teachers, including adaptations for all of their Train Like An Astronaut program activities.

Day 5 STEAM Challenge:

Use the Mathematical Grid Method to draw an image of your choice. Who knew math could help you learn how to draw?! For instructions on how to use the Grid Method, click here.

Day 5 Bio-Hack:

Rebound (jumping up and down on a trampoline) for ten to fifteen minutes today. This can stimulate every single cell in your body. Rebounding helps circulate oxygen throughout the body to increase energy. It also improves balance by stimulating the vestibule in the middle ear. Don’t have a trampoline? Mama called the doctor and the doctor said “Increase bone mass by jumping on the bed”. NASA uses rebounding exercises to help astronauts combat bone mass loss during long-duration missions.

How to Win Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

It’s Day 4 of the 2018 #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Thursday May 17, 2018

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our Live Blog Post updated daily here!

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far check out the event hashtag here!

Remember, this is a 5-day challenge running from May 14-18 and the focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp.

Every day during the challenge we will post the #TrainLikeAMartian fitness challenge, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activity and a bio-hack challenge. You can participate in any or all of the challenges. Join us today and let’s all have some fun!

You must sign up here and follow the challenge rules to qualify to win prizes.

For every $25 donated, donor gets one entry in the daily prize drawing for #TrainLikeAMartian! Please make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000.

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 4 Fitness Challenge: Building An Astronaut Core

For today’s challenge we are focusing on building an astronaut core.

The fitness activity requires you to complete both crunches and a plank. See how you do with these activities! Challenge your friends to a planking competition and see who can hold their plank the longest. Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Watch the video here or click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program. Resources include detailed educational guides for teachers, including adaptations for all of their Train Like An Astronaut program activities.

Day 4 STEAM Challenge:

Draw, paint, or build how you imagine a Mars colony would look! Get creative! What will you need? How will you generate energy? What will your agricultural system look like? Will you have a recreational center? Check out how to build a Mars Colony in your living room.

Day 4 Bio-Hack:

Start today with a high-fat breakfast. Try having an avocado on toast, or a full-serving of grass fed yogurt topped with macadamia nuts and raspberries. Healthy fats like monounsaturated (coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, butter or milk from grass fed cows) can have cardiovascular benefits as they have been linked to reducing LDL cholesterol, help our immune system fight off intruders, contribute to healthy brain and hormone formation, and are an excellent source of energy. When you substitute a high-carbohydrate breakfast for a high-fat breakfast, you are also changing your body’s metabolic functioning which leaves you feeling full. Feeling full is a plus when you’re an astronaut living in space or on Mars and have limited food options.

How to Win Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

It’s Day 3 of the 2018 #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Wednesday May 16, 2018

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our Live Blog Post.

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far check out the event hashtag here!

This is a 5 day challenge running from May 14-18. The focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp.

Every day during the challenge we will post the #TrainLikeAMartian fitness challenge, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activity and a bio-hack challenge. You can participate in any or all of the challenges. Join us today and let’s all have some fun!

You must sign up here and follow the challenge rules to qualify to win prizes.

For every $25 donated, donor gets one entry in the daily prize drawing for #TrainLikeAMartian! Please make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000.

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 3 Fitness Challenge: Jump for the Moon

Our focus today is on building bone strength and heart and muscle endurance by jumping for the moon! For this challenge you will jump rope or you can jump up and down or do jumping jacks or jump up and down stairs or…you get the picture!

See how many times you can jump in 30 seconds, 60 seconds or longer! Can you do 3 sets of 30 seconds each? How about skipping around while you jump rope? Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Watch the video here or click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program. Resources include detailed educational guides for teachers, including adaptations for all of their Train Like An Astronaut program activities.

Day 3 STEAM Challenge:

Today, go outside and explore the plant life in your neighborhood! Try to identify a plant of which you don’t know the name. Click here for a step-by-step guide to help you identify your plant.

Day 3 Bio-Hack Challenge:

Eliminate refined sugar from your diet today. Refined sugars can be found in food items like soda, sweets, pastas and even white breads. Though the jury is still out for some, refined sugars have been linked to high cholesterol, crankiness, fatigue and other negative health benefits. Tooth decay has also been linked to sugar intake and that poses a serious risk for astronauts who partake in missions that extend past Earth’s orbit, as they will have a greater lapse in time since their last terrestrial dental exam and will need to rely on limited resources and personnel who may not have had extensive dental training. So for today’s bio-hack, if you need to use a sweetener today, try to use raw honey or Stevia instead of sugar.

How to Win Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

Find out about the cool rewards you can earn through fundraising for The Mars Generation by clicking here.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

It’s Day 2 of the 2018 #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Tuesday May 15, 2018

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our LIVE blog post updated daily here!

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far check out the event hashtag here!

Remember, this is a 5-day challenge running from May 14-18 and the focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp.

This year we have a few different challenges to participate in for added fun! Every day during the challenge we will post the #TrainLikeAMartian fitness challenge, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) activity and a bio-hack challenge. You can participate in any or all of the challenges. Join us today and let’s all have some fun!

You must sign up here and follow the challenge rules to qualify to win prizes.

For every $25 donated, donor gets one entry in the daily prize drawing for #TrainLikeAMartian! Please make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000.

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 2 Fitness Challenge: Do a Spacewalk!

For today’s challenge,we are focusing on building muscular strength and coordination by doing the spacewalk! For your spacewalk, you will perform a “crab walk” and “bear crawl.” Yup, you heard us! For the little kids, this will be easy –  for us big kids it may be a bit more challenging!

See how you do with these activities. Can you move forward and backward? How far can you travel for each? We are guessing we will be getting some great photos and videos of this challenge! Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Watch the video here or click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program. Resources include detailed educational guides for teachers, including adaptations for all of their Train Like An Astronaut program activities.

Day 2 STEAM Challenge:

Our second STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) challenge is to see what has been happening with the Mars Curiosity Rover Mission on NASA’s website: Curiosity Rover Mission. Let us know something you learned!

Day 2 Bio-Hack Challenge:

Eat raw vegetables today and skip the commercial dressing, which can have unhealthy oils or chemicals that usually contain MSG (monosodium glutamate). Raw vegetables keep more of their vitamins and minerals intact and they maintain more of their enzymes. The body uses enzymes to digest food and repair itself. Astronauts can use raw foods grown in space for treatment of allergic, rheumatic and infectious diseases. Astronauts on the International Space Station are currently utilizing deployable plant growth units for both nutrition and for a means of recreation and relaxation.

You can make your own dressing by blending;
½ avocado
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
½ lemon
Fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

How to Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

Find out about the cool rewards you can earn through fundraising for The Mars Generation by clicking here.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

So you have decided to join us for the Train Like A Martian Challenge May 14 – 18, 2018 and now what?

Turn it into a party! Invite your friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances, favorite movie stars and even your favorite dentist to join in the fun! This is going to be a fun way to get social with people and be a bit silly while also raising awareness about the importance of STEM education, space and fitness and also support the work of The Mars Generation.

It’s a win-win! And why keep the good feelings to yourself? The more people to join in the more fun we will have!

Here are some pre-written messages and photos for you to use for challenging others – don’t be shy! It doesn’t hurt to dream big!

Tips for messages:

• Make sure to use the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag
• Include the dates May 14-18, 2018
• Include the link for the event information and sign up
• Use Photos – You are free to use photos from any TMG channels or grab some from our public folder here.

Twitter Messages:

I challenge @TwitterHandle to #TrainLikeAMartian with @TheMarsGen and me on May 14-18, 2018! Event Details and sign up here: http://themarsgeneration.org/train-like-a-martian/ 

Twitter tip: Don’t start your tweet with the @ symbol because that limits who can see the tweet to only people who follow both you and the person you are tweeting to. For challenging people we want everyone who follows you to see your tweet so they can learn about the event too!

Here is an example Tweet:

I challenge YOU @GeorgeTakei to join me and the entire @TheMarsGen community to #TrainLikeAMartian May 14-18 to help promote #STEAMed #space & #fitness

For details and to sign up click here: https://t.co/nzgdq1KVEc

I hope you will join me & share too! pic.twitter.com/ANWCKfTiUk

— Abigail Harrison (@AstronautAbby) April 18, 2018

Facebook / LinkedIn / Google+ / Email

I challenge (Tag your friends here) to join me to #TrainLikeAMartian May 14-18, 2018! It’s easy just click the link below for information and to sign up and follow @TheMarsGen on Twitter or Facebook for the daily challenges. Share photos of yourself completing the challenge or any physical activity each day for chances to win cool space prizes!

By participating you are helping to raise awareness about the importance of STEM education, space and fitness! You are also helping to advance the mission of The Mars Generation and inspire students around the world to dream big!

Together we can change the world! Join me and let’s do this!

Click here for details: http://themarsgeneration.org/train-like-a-martian/

Welcome to Day 5, NOT the final day of the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Friday May 26, 2017

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our Live Blog Post.

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far click here.

This is the NOT the final day! 

We have added 1 bonus day for you all to submit photos and videos of many of the 5 day challenges with more prizes to give away through 11:59 CST Saturday May 27! So keep sharing through tomorrow!

Click here to read about the bonus day and bonus prize opportunities! You have until Saturday May 27 to win! 

The focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp. This is your last day to join us for a chance to win lots of great prizes! To see the live blog post with the entire week of challenges as well as prize winners click here.

Please check out the rewards for donations here and make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000. This is our last day to reach our goal!

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 5 Challenge: Agility Astro-Course

Our focus today is to improve your agility, coordination and speed! For this challenge you setup some type of agility course – this can be done with canned food instead of cones and then test yourself to complete it!

See how you do with getting up and down and how fast you can finish your own course. Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program or watch the video below. NASA provides detailed guides including adaptations for all their Train Like An Astronaut program activities. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see all the different guides.

 Day 5 STEAM Challenge:

Grab a ball and a permanent marker to play “Add It Up.” Click here to learn how to play this fun MATH game. 

Day 5 Bio-Hack Challenge:

Skip the cheese and try some grass feed beef or lamb and add some grass feed butter to your vegetables.

How to Win Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo  (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

Find out about the cool rewards you can earn through fundraising and/or donating to The Mars Generation by clicking here.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

*Photo credit NASA

We like to keep things interesting and fun when running our challenges whether we are doing our #PotatoChallenge or our #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge!

For the 2017 #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge we have more ways for you to win!

One More Day To Play and Be Entered To Win

First, we are extending the challenge end date to Saturday, May 27, 2017, at 11:59pm CST.

Any photos and video entries that are posted during Saturday will be entered in our final prize drawing and also entered for the grand prize drawing. Winners will be announced Tuesday, May 30, 2017.

We will not introduce any new challenges on Saturday, it is a free for all to go back and do your favorite challenges from Days 1-5 and/or do challenges you didn’t have time for including biohacks or STEAM challenges.

This also means donations will be accepted through the same deadline on Saturday so people can get rewards for donations through Saturday, May 27, 2017.

Please help us reach our goal of $10,000 to fund our programs and inspire the next generation to dream big!

NEW TLM Video Contest

Second, we have a video contest that is easy to enter and you may win some cool prizes.

We will have 4 prize winners. Prizes will be:

• 2 Lottie Explorer Dolls
• 1 TMG Logo T-shirt
• 1 TMG Logo Sweatshirt

Winners will be selected randomly from all entries.

You may enter up to 6 videos total. The videos must be of one of the challenges which include fitness, STEAM or biohacks from any of the contest days. We will be checking to ensure videos submitted are of challenge activities. You must be signed up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge to win.

Please note these videos may be used by TMG in social media posts, compilation videos of the event or any other video we may decide to produce. Please make sure you are ok with us using the video outside of this contest.

To Enter:

1. You will need to upload your video using the link below.
2. You will need to title your video using the name you signed up for the challenge with, what challenge day the video is from and the challenge category.
3. You may upload using your phone. You enter the title on our entry form, this is not the title you create when you save your video.
4. You must be signed up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge. 

(Example Title: Abby_Harrison_Day 1_Biohack)

Click here to submit video(s)  – this will take you to a Google Dropbox that will allow you to upload your video and it will be submitted to our contest dropbox.

*Videos that are longer than 1 minute may take awhile to upload, internet speed may also affect this. Please do not contact us if you cannot upload your video. Edit the video to make it shorter and try again.

Welcome to Day 4 of the #TrainLikeAMartian Challenge! Thursday May 25, 2017

To view all challenges and prize winners please check out our Live Blog Post.

To view fun photos and videos from the challenge so far click here.

This  is a 5 day challenge running from May 22-26. The focus is to raise awareness for the importance of STEM, space and fitness and also to help raise funds for The Mars Generation programs including sending students who lack financial resources to Space Camp. To see the live blog post with the entire week of challenges as well as prize winners click here.

Every day we will post the #TrainLikeAMartian fitness challenge, a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) activity and a bio-hack challenge. You can participate in any or all of the challenges. Join us today and let’s all have some fun!

Please check out the rewards for donations here and make a donation today to help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000.

You do not need to donate to participate and be entered for a chance to win prizes.

Day 4 Challenge: Jump for the Moon

Our focus today is on building bone strength and heart and muscle endurance by jumping for the moon! For this challenge you will jump rope or you can jump up and down or do jumping jacks or jump up and down stairs or…you get the picture!

See how many times you can jump in 30 seconds, 60 seconds or longer! Can you do 3 sets of 30 seconds each? How about skipping around while you jump rope?  Want some instruction on how to complete these activities? Click here for awesome NASA* resources from their Train Like An Astronaut program or watch the video below. NASA provides detailed guides including adaptations for all their Train Like An Astronaut program activities. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see all the different guides and a video of today’s challenge activity too!

 Day 4 STEAM Challenge:

Get artsy and paint something. You can even turn this challenge into a game. Click here for instructions to create your own flowers painting and numbers game.

Day 4 Bio-Hack Challenge:

Substitute olive oil, peanut oil or vegetable oil with coconut oil.

How to Win Be Entered to Win Cool Space Prizes

Complete the challenge activity or any physical activity and share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram using our event hashtag #TrainLikeAMartian to be entered in our daily drawings. You can be entered multiple times:

• Every photo  (up to 3 photos per day) = 1 entry/ photo
• Every video (up to 3 videos per day) = 2 entries/ video
• Every post asking your followers to donate to The Mars Generation that includes both #TrainLikeAMartian and TheMarsGeneration.org/donate = 2 entries for each social media post
• You may enter on multiple social media channels for even more chances to win!

Sign up for the Train Like A Martian Challenge here to qualify for prizes and also to receive email updates about the challenge.

Challenge your friends to join you for #TrainLikeAMartian, click here to find out how.

Find out about the cool rewards you can earn through fundraising and/or donating to The Mars Generation by clicking here.

*NASA does not endorse nor is affiliated with The Mars Generation or the Train Like A Martian Challenge.

*Photo credit NASA