Talking to NASA about Robotics

Students in the challenge fourth and fifth grade classrooms at Roosevelt spoke with NASA's Armstrong Research Center for a lesson on "Introduction to Robotics in the Classroom".

David Alexander, learning coordinator for NASA, spoke on how NASA is constantly looking to advance robotics and to increase the capabilities of robots to prepare for future exploration missions. Students were able to discover how and why NASA uses robots, what skills do students need for career in robotics, and what is in development for upcoming missions.

The students learned about how Mars, the red planet, has been the primary focus of explorations by robots, or probes.  The goal is to try discover how life could be sustained on the planet and that they are trying to find any signs of past life.

Mr. Alexander also spoke on careers that could be pursued to come work at NASA and what studies it make take to fulfill those roles.  Students were then able to ask him questions.  They asked about taking computers to space, and how long it make take to design and build on of their probes.  Overall it was a very informative lesson leaving students wanting more!