The first group of young space pioneers to use the Mars Odyssey spacecraft at ASU took their first image of the red planet Tuesday.
Eleven sixth- and seventh-grade pupils were chosen from the Olympia School District in Illinois to be the first participants in the Mars Student Imaging Project at ASU.
They worked alongside ASU and NASA scientists for three days collecting data and taking images of Mars in ASU's new Mars Imaging Facility in the Moeur building.
"We are all very proud and excited to be a part of such a wonderful project," seventh-grader Leah Bauersfeld said.
The pupils' image revealed a crater that had never been seen before in such detail.
"Although we really haven't had the time to analyze our picture, we have made some guesses to what we are seeing," Bauersfeld said. "We found channels or gullies along the rim, and also some signs of wind and possible signs of water erosion."
The analysis will continue in Illinois and then be released on the Mars Odyssey web site.
The Mars Odyssey was launched April 7 and now maps the surface of Mars. ASU's addition, THEMIS, the Thermal Emission Imaging System, takes photographs and thermal images of the planet. The Illinois pupils used this to get their image.
The first participants were chosen for their excellence in academics and are in the top two of their class.
"I can't think of anything more hands-on," said Cindy Wurmnest, a teacher from the Olympia School District. "This is the way that science should be taught."
When Wurmnest heard about the ASU project last spring, she decided that she wanted her pupils to have the opportunity to work with scientists and be involved in space exploration.
The work for the Illinois pupils started prior to their trip to ASU. They researched the geography of Mars and the instruments they would use, and they learned basic trigonometry before taking the image.
"We wanted to find out what the crater did to the land and what the land did to the crater," Bauersfeld said.
Eight of the pupils said they now have an interest in pursuing a career in science, even though they hadn't before.
"It's kind of hard to explain how we feel," said Matt Westerfield, a seventh-grader. "We had a great time doing all this."
Illinois businesses eager to extend science education in the state sponsored the group.
More pupils will follow in the footsteps of the first group. Tuesday was the first day for a group of high school students from Nogales, Ariz., who will be collecting data until Friday. Schools that cannot afford to travel to ASU can interact with the Mars Odyssey team through a distance learning program provided by the Mars Student Imaging Project.
Reach the reporter at emily.murphy@asu.edu.
