[music]
>> How many of you want
to be aerospace engineers? Okay.
>> Be putting the final touches
on your rover, do some tests,
figure out things now, before
you get to the field.
[music/background conversation]
>> I'm Al Bowers,
I'm the chief scientist
at NASA Armstrong
Flight Research Center.
These kids are in the experience
for journey to Mars which is
to build small Mars rovers
to rescue another rover.
This is their first real
experience with trying
to do something and first
real experience with NASA.
[music]
>> What's the specific
approach your team has taken
and what's the challenge
you're trying to achieve today?
>> Well, right now we're
trying to retrieve all 3 --
at least we know of 3
rovers on the platform.
We have a hammer that is going
to use a motorized action
to bring down a scoop and
hook the rovers back towards
our base.
[music]
>> I'm actually the design
engineer, in a group of three
right now we're just trying to
finalize our process.
>> We'll just create a new
program.
>> We had to reinnovate a couple
times and right now the final
process is just to put the last
minute things together, and
the pressure is really going on
right now.
>> The experience that I had
here was the most life changing
thing I've ever had.
I've never worked in
a group like this.
To come here and work
with people that are
in the same situation as
I'm in and really want it.
>> It's not only mathematics
or engineering,
but also the creativity
aspect is really important.
And if you want to add some
sort of wow factor or some sort
of outside the box thought that
maybe another party hasn't come
up with, you can really
revolutionize an area.
>> Go!
[music]
[rover sounds]
[sighs/groans]
[rover sounds]
[sighs/groans]
[rover sounds]
[gasps]
[sighs/groans]
>> You don't plan for
things to go well.
You plan for things to go
horribly wrong, be willing
to see that risk, you
have to risk things
to be able to achieve things.
If there isn't any chance of
failure, it's a demonstration,
it's not research.
When we actually launched, we
had a little bit of an
asymmetric deployment.
>> Whoooaa!
>> Those were inflatable wings,
so that destroyed them.
Experience comes from making bad
decisions, basically.
The only way to gain some
experience is by failing.
You do everything you can so
that you can learn from those
mistakes.
>> Just seeing everyone else,
engineers already going through
the same struggles, continuing
all these struggles and
failures, but being able
to still turn out fine.
It's great and it
reinforces that fact
that I know that I can do it.
[cheering]
>> It has motivated me to
continue pushing myself.
>> Lots of experiments,
and experiments
and trying and imagination.
[music]
[rover sounds]
[cheering]
[rover sounds]
[cheering]
[rover sounds]
[cheering]
>> I've learned to work
really well with teams.
I've learned the whole entire
robotic design process.
I've learned about some of
the cutting edge missions
that they're doing on Mars.
I've learned -- it
was just crazy --
it was a very wild experience.
Just seeing so many
industry professionals
and so many- how down
to Earth they are,
and how like-minded they are.
And just being a part of that
whole corner was just
absolutely incredible.
[music]
