180 students from Occitania set out to discover Mars in the wake of Perseverance. They take part in the Martian robot challenge, an introduction to space science in partnership with the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse. Report.

“We can’t go outside today, but that’s okay, I prefer to play with the robot”. This Thursday, April 7, the students of two CE1 classes attending the elementary school of Papus in Toulouse missed recess. And for good reason: they were guiding a robot on Mars.

Like three other classes from other schools in the Occitanie region, they are taking part in the “Martian robot challenge” project led by the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse. Objective: learn how to program Mars rovers. They must rely on the performance of the Perseverance robot, sent to the red planet after a seven-month trip (July 2020-February 2021) to analyze the soil and look for any trace of life on Mars.

Everything is timed. They only have 45 minutes to find the path that allows the rover landed on Mars to go around the Jezero crater, the same one where Perseverance (the real one) was sent to analyze the icy water on the red planet. To achieve this, students work in pairs. They must find the route to guide the robot and to achieve this, establish a program using maps that indicate the direction. “They must work together to succeed“Summarizes Chloé Dabin, teacher.

Their results will then be used by other students in schools who are also participating in the Martian challenge and who are connected via Zoom. Each class has its own challenge. “We have to take the robot from point A to point B. That’s our mission“recalls the teacher.

You can’t be wrong. If we make one mistake, the whole mission can fail

Héloïse Brault, teacher in CE1 class, to her students

The mission is perilous: if they are wrong, Perseverance risks being damaged or missing its objective. “It takes a lot of thinking to get there.“says little Amel. At the end of the allotted time, three pairs succeeded.

Distance between Mars and Earth? “480,000 kilometers!“Average temperature on Mars?”-60°C!“Now, they are practically unbeatable. The pupils of CE1 were able to discover the planet for several months during workshops. Based on an educational path developed by the Cité de l’espace and transmitted to teachers, they also worked on the characteristics of a robot.They learned how the robot was made, by whom, what it was going to do in space, why we were sending a robot to Mars and not a human“Summarizes Héloïse Brault.

“A robot is made of metal, it’s not a human“recalls Lois. “Then we can send it to Mars instead. He won’t be cold», completes Hassna. “But isn’t it likely to fly away with all the storms there are on Mars?», Worries a student. “No, remember Perseverance is heavy and solid“, reassures Chloé Dabin.

Before participating in this project, none of the students in these two classes knew of the existence of the Perseverance rover. Most of them have never even set foot in the Cité de l’Espace. “I talked to my mother about it and we were able to go“says Anas, conquered. At his side, little Adam did the same. Amel, she already wanted to become an astronaut before participating in the Martian robot challenge. And plan to go “see all the galaxies“when she’s older.”

My mom didn’t know the Perseverance robot at all. I told him about it because I really like what we do

Hasna, student in CE1 at the elementary school of Papus in Toulouse

For the two teachers who arrived five years ago in this establishment in Toulouse, these projects are necessary to enrich the knowledge of children and democratize space sciences. “Many of them come from a fairly disadvantaged background. They didn’t ask for the habit of seeing this stuff and we can’t afford to offer them robots like this“, explains Héloïse Brault. All the equipment (digital tablet, visuals, robots, game cards, game boards for the floor with an impression of Mars, etc.) was lent by the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse.

In total, eight elementary schools in Occitania were able to participate in the “Martian robot challenges”. This Friday, the 180 students from the region are expected at the Cité de l’Espace in Toulouse to attend the restitution of their work and see scale models of robots.