This coming Saturday, the general public can go to Mars to expertise the fun of controlling a rover on the floor of Mars.
The Mars Robotics Affiliation is internet hosting an occasion on Saturday, Could 11, the place it should give the general public an opportunity to regulate robots not too dissimilar to NASA’s Perseverance Rover, which is at present scanning the pink planet for indicators of life.
“We’re making an attempt to simulate the identical rules as the actual rovers,” stated Dr. Jeff Beckstead, president of the Mars Robotics Affiliation.
Throughout Saturday’s occasion, guests can drive these robots throughout a big 8-by-16-foot floor representing a portion of Mars, with a picture taken from a real-life satellite tv for pc seize of the planet. The robots have been constructed out of LEGO by members of the Mars Robotics Affiliation.
These robotic pilots are tasked with gathering “rock samples” and figuring out whether or not or not the samples are worthy of being investigated for indicators of life.
“Every one has a check tube that’s inserted into it, and inside that check tube is a shade that will symbolize that kind of rock,” Beckstead stated. “We exit, discover rocks, then we carry them again to base. Then, we consider these to see in the event that they’re beneficial or not.”
In so doing, they’ll simulate the precise Perseverance Rover’s mission to gather rocks to review for indicators of life on Mars.
“The Perseverance Rover is gathering rock samples on Mars and placing them in pattern tubes,” Beckstead stated. “The following mission to Mars will carry these samples again to Earth for laboratory investigation.”
Saturday’s occasion is a collaboration between the Mars Robotics Affiliation and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and can also be part of Remake Studying Days, which is happening throughout southwestern Pennsylvania from Could 2 via Could 22. Remake Studying, an non-profit instructional community, supplied the grant for this occasion.
“They’ve been selling a number of totally different actions throughout the state which might be targeted on STEM schooling,” Beckstead stated. “Mars Robotics have been awarded a grant to assist us assist this exercise.”
The occasion will happen from 11 a.m. to three p.m. on the Mars borough municipal constructing on Arch Road. In line with the occasion’s webpage, the occasion is focused primarily at youngsters aged 8-18.
