[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]