Robotics Club: Designing a Mars Base and Meeting with Professionals

Robotics: Mars Research

In addition to working with Lego robots, teams in the First Lego League research real-world problems and propose original solutions. Teams present this project as part of an FLL competition. This year the competition theme is outer space. The SJS team was inspired by the challenges of starting a base on Mars. They learned about the physical differences between Earth and Mars and the difficulty of transporting cargo and crew members. They planned a "Happy Martian Resort" complete with a display board and brochures advertising its amenities.

The team was interested in combating the loneliness that explorers would feel being away from Earth. Since the base would be underground, they decided that light therapy would help the astronauts keep a healthy sleep schedule and preserve their mental health.

The First Lego League stresses the importance of students meeting and sharing ideas with professionals in the field that they are studying. Since we were interested in the isolation that the astronauts would experience, we met with a priest and licensed therapist. We discussed ways to create connections between people and combat loneliness.

We also had the opportunity to have a Google Hangout with a NASA engineer. We told him about our project and he asked some questions that helped us learn more about Mars and current NASA projects.

We set up a meeting over the internet. First the students presented their research and solution.

 All the students participate in the presentation with each student explaining one section.

 Mr. Ferullo asked questions about the presentation.

 The team showed him our display board advertising the "Happy Martian Resort."

We learned more about the problem of radiation on Mars. An underground base will protect the astronauts from radiation.

 We heard about the lighting that NASA has installed on the International Space Station and in mission control.

We learned about the isolation that researchers experience in Antarctica.

It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to share their project with a NASA engineer. He helped us connect what we had studied with what is happening in current NASA research projects. The SJS robotics team gives students a chance to explore science outside the classroom!