Red planet project brings rover expert right over to Miller Elementary

Students at Miller Elementary School, 4851 E. Lake Mead Blvd., brought Mars down to Earth.

They embarked on a monthlong study of Mars and the solar system, beginning with a videoconference April 9 with Steven Squyres, a professor of astronomy at Cornell University and the principal investigator of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission. The rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, were launched in 2003 to study the soil and rocks of Mars.

Fifth-grade students at Miller would be creating their own model rovers, landers and parachutes. They asked Squyres questions about the construction process, such as: "How can we make the wheels go over rocks and make the rover not fall over?"; "What is the best shape to form a lander, rover and parachute?" and "Will putting joints on the rover be effective?"

Squyres' answer to most of the questions was to keep things as simple as possible. That is what he tried to do with his rover designs, he said.

Students in other grades also got in on the Mars action.

Second-graders wrote essays about how people might build a community on Mars. Third-graders compared the geology of Mars with Earth. Fourth-graders studied renewable energy used to keep the rovers powered.

Squyres was honored April 26 at the Desert Research Institute's annual Nevada Medals dinner. During his visit to Las Vegas, he stopped by Miller to speak to students and observe their work.

"Coming out here for three days offered a chance to interact with local schools," Squyres said. "I think that's one of the most important parts of what we do. One of the things that characterizes these rover missions is that they're very accessible. It's not something tremendously complicated. They're robots. They're looking at rocks. It's the kind of thing that's really easy to explain to kids and get them excited.

"That gives us a unique opportunity and responsibility to get kids this age engaged in this kind of stuff. This is the age where you really get a chance to reach them. I jumped at the chance."

At two assemblies, he talked about the 16-year process of getting the rovers from an idea in his head to the NASA launch pad.

Students seized another opportunity to ask him questions.

"Why did one of the rovers die?" It became stuck in some soil and lost power, Squyres said, although, it outlasted its three-month life projection by about six years.

"How long did it take to build?" About 34 months, Squyres said.

"How fast do the rovers move?" About 6 centimeters per second, Squyres said, the speed of a Galapagos turtle.

"Is there water on Mars?" Yes, Squyres said.

He told the students the planet is red because it's rusty ---- the iron in the planet, mixed with water, makes rust. It's about 4.5 billion years old, the same as other planets.

One student asked how much the mission cost. When Squyres said $900 million, the students erupted in simultaneous "wooooahs!" It took about 20 seconds to calm them down.

Squyres told students that another rover, Curiosity, is on its way to Mars and will land Aug. 5. Students approached Squyres after the assembly and asked for his autograph. He signed papers, notebooks and hands.

He heard a girl leaving the auditorium behind him saying,"I want to be a scientist, too."

"It made my day," Squyres said.

He joined students in a classroom that had been transformed into a Mars environment with red soil and rocks. He watched as groups of students demonstrated their rovers for him.

Fifth-grader Arron-Michael Pendleton said he enjoyed being a scientist for a few weeks.

"It was great because I actually got to have some fun," he said. "I was doing the same work that Dr. Squyres got to do.

"It was a very fun experience. I learned that if I want to be a scientist, I can actually do it if I keep trying and put my mind to it."

Contact View education reporter Jeff Mosier at jmosier@viewnews.com or 224-5524.