Started by Fran O'Rourke's 4th and 5th graders:

     
T'was the Night Before Christmas
T'was the night before Christmas when all through the stars,
not a creature was stirring, not even on Mars.

When all of a sudden, like a great blinking light, I looked up and saw
Pathfinder in sight.

I whistled I yelled with all of my might, I woke up my Mom in the
middle of the night.

Then, with a twinkle, Pathfinder landed, and all of a sudden an air bag
expanded. Sojourner nestled in Pathfinder with care, in hopes that
daylight soon would be there.

The solar panels opened, and to my surprise, there I saw Sojourner
sitting inside.

The Sun arose, and there he went, to examine objects, that's why he was
sent.

We all thank Sojourner for sending back facts, while he moves across
Mars, leaving Earthly tracks.

Peggy Gebhart submits a poem by a group of students in the Muncie Community Schools Planetarium

             T'was The Night Before Independence Day

                T'was the night before Independence Day
                when all through the stars, not a creature was stirring,
                not even on Mars.

                When all of a sudden, like a great blinking light,
                I looked up and saw  Pathfinder in sight!

                I whistled and yelled with all of my might
                Even woke up my Mom in the middle of the night.

                And then with a twinkle, learned with joy
                the parachute on Pathfinder began to deploy.

                All of a sudden the airbags expanded.
                I waited to learn when Pathfinder landed.

                Sojourner was nestled in Pathfinder with care,
                in hopes that daylight soon would be there.

                The solar panels opened.  And to my praise,
                there I saw Sojourner waiting for rays.

                The Sun rose quietly in the peaceful Martian air.
                As Sojourner examined each rock with care.

                We all thank Sojourner for sending back facts.
                while moving across Mars, leaving Eartly tracks.

And from Marilyn Kennedy:

     THE ADVENTURE BEFORE CHRISTMAS  By Stuart Wood and Adam Zucconi

     'Twas the night before Christmas and all through known space, not a
     creature was stirring or showing its face.
     The spacecraft was scanning the planet with care, in hope that life
     signs would soon be there.
     When all of a sudden, to my surprise, I saw another spacecraft
     with my very own eyes!!
     I whistled and yelled and jumped for joy but then I realized, it
     was another creature's space toy!
     As someone who looked like Santa flew off in the night, he yelled
     "MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD FLIGHT!"

                -John Wayland Elementary School  Bridgewater, VA

From Rosalie Francisco, University of Washington:

Same tune/chant  = Let's go on a bear hunt

Goin' on a Mars trip,
We're not afraid.
Blast off on a rocket,
We've got it made.

Soon we are in orbit,
Goin' 'round the earth.
Now we'll head for Mars,
Discover new stuff.

It travels seven months,
Just to get there.
Now get ready to land,
Dare try the air?

Time for the parachute
To slow us down.
Let's inflate the airbags,
Bounce to the ground.

Now deflate the airbags,
The sides fold out.
Camera on the lander,
Looks all about.

The Mars weather station,
Starts to operate.
Rover named Sojourner,
Starts to navigate.

It moves very slowly,
Obeys each command.
The data it collects,
Helps us understand . . .

Why we study Mars,
And things in space.
How to solve problems,
For the human race.

From Chantel Kinnard, Age 11:

Dare to Discover-TO REACH THE STARS
A tribute to Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut in space.

She dared to dream every night,
About traveling to Jupiter and taking flight.
She worked and she toiled and she studied mighty hard,
She thought of space as her own backyard.
With thoughts of Jupiter and Mars,
She sought to reach the highest stars.
The time had come for her to see,
If her hard work had been the key.
The launching pad was crowded that day,
As she buckled up and flew away.
The shuttle took off to orbit the earth,
Her efforts the showed how much they were worth.
As she gaxed from the shuttle upon the North Pole,
She knew in her heart she had know reached her goal.

From Kayleigh Bruns:

Mars Mystery

Why? Why does Mars stand out from the crowd. Why does his color say aloud. "I am different, I am strange, but don't worry about keeping your range. Although I have no air with me to share, I can't help it that it's just plain not there. My face screams aloud I'm red with fury, stay away. But truely I say come to play. Me and my moons have so much of fun, it would be more better to play with everyone. So learn about me with sertany, not mystery, please know I want you to be with me." Mars is a place where somewhere you'll find the beauty of it's features shown to mankind.