Adirondack, a large rock at Gusev Crater, as seen by the Spirit Rover. Image Courtesy of NASA and JPL.

A group of high school students has been lending NASA a hand with its two newest Mars rovers. Since January 2004, dozens of students from across the country have been jetting around Mission Control in California, setting up databases, analyzing data, processing information, naming rocks, and having the time of their lives.

The students are part of the Athena Student Intern Program (ASIP), sponsored by NASA and Cornell University, which has afforded 39 lucky high school students the opportunity to virtually explore Mars. Through ASIP, three high school students and one of their teachers are matched with a member of the Athena Payload Science Team (which runs the Mars Rovers). The students help the scientist process data, investigate interesting photographs, handle the press, and do some of the basic science needed to operate the rovers.

The program is NASA’s latest — and possibly most exciting — initiative to fuel the next generation’ interest in space.

The Student Teams

Teams were selected in early 2003 from applicants across the country, and came from high schools in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. For the mission, each team performed a unique and necessary task for the Mars Rover science teams.

“One girl handled all the press for [Mars Rover Principle Investigator] Steve Squires during the landings,” said Mary Mulvanerton, the Athena Science Team Coordinator. “That was a very big and very important job, since everyone from everywhere was calling him up for an interview!”

The teams spent time with their science mentors before the landing, preparing for their work on Mars. The students learned about the geology of Mars, the science and mechanics of the rovers, and the software they would be using to analyze data. Finally, each team spent one week at Mission Control in Pasadena during Rover Operations.

“It was great to watch them during the mission operations,” said Mulvanerton. “There were ear-to-ear grins on every kid — and they just didn’t stop!”

The Laguna-Acoma Team

Examining Adirondack. The Laguna-Acoma team examines some thermal infrared data on the Adirondack rock at Gusev Crater. Image courtesy of NASA.

Three of those grins came to mission control from a small community in New Mexico. The student science team from Laguna-Acoma High School, in Laguna, N.M., consisted of three extremely enthusiastic students. Brandon Herrera, a National Honor Society and Science Olympiad student; Mark Vallejos, high school junior and volunteer community firefighter; and Henry Vicente, the team’s student science journalist, joined their teacher, Joe Aragon, on five months of Mars exploration.

Prior to the rovers’ landings on Mars, the Laguna-Acoma team prepared for Mars by examining their own backyard. Accompanied by their science mentor, Dr. Larry Crumpler, the team visited Mount Taylor, near their homes in New Mexico, where they examined lava flows and collected rock samples.

Back at the lab, they identified the minerals in the rocks, and characterized their weathering conditions. The team worked with Crumpler and Aragon every week for five months prior to landing, learning how to examine rocks.

“Dr. Crumpler taught us all about lava flows,” said Herrera. “We learned how to identify all the minerals, how the rocks were eroded, and all sorts of structures in the rocks, like vesicles where tiny pockets of gas exploded on eruption.”

After several months of preparation, the team arrived at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California on January 18, in time for the Opportunity rover’s landing — the third attempted rover landing in two months. The European Space Agency’s Beagle 2 lander had failed to land just a few months before; the Spirit Rover, already on Mars, was not responding to NASA’s calls; and the mood at JPL was tense.

“As Opportunity came down through the [Martian] atmosphere, it felt pretty exciting and stressful,” said Vallejos. “They were doing a second-by-second update, and everyone was so quiet. It was nerve-racking. We didn’t know if the rover would make it...”

“When it landed and the mission commander said everything was ok, everyone went crazy!” continued Mark. “Pictures were flooding in and the scientists were running to their computers! Everyone celebrated! Looking at the pictures, we were stunned ... just knowing that we were looking at another planet and we were among the first people to see them.”

Mars and New Mexico: Rocks and Names

The Laguna-Acoma Team. Left to right: Joe Aragon, Brandon Herrera, Mark Vallejos, and Dr. Larry Crumpler. Not pictured: Henry Vicente, team science journalist. Image courtesy of NASA.

“Thanks to Dr. Crumpler and the science team, there are rocks on Mars named after our communities,” said Vicente. “That is very special for us.”