Yes! We are sending high school students to Mars, or better said to a Mars-simulation in Portugal :)

My name is Emily Ugbodu and I am a 19-year-old high school graduate. During an OeWF lecture at the Science Academy Lower Austria, I came across a fascinating topic called Analog Mars Missions. You might have heard about it by now. Listening to Dr. Grömer talking about the training and work of Analog Astronauts sparked my interest. I even got to lead the rover mission! Since I can remember I wanted to become a physicist and know how and why the world works, especially structures in outer space, e.g. Mars. So naturally, I applied for an internship.

But back to students on Mars. The past few weeks I got to work on the EXPLORE Project which intends to get students interested in STEAM topics (STEAM…Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). We create virtual and physical toolkits for high schools. These toolkits are comprised of experiment resources and materials for class, intended to train the students for, you guessed it an Analog Mission in Portugal. Look out for it in April 2025!

In order to train the students, we need to train their teachers first, in the form of summer schools and online trainings. These teachers get to accumulate a broad spectrum of knowledge in all things space travel and space exploration and can then perfectly prepare the students for becoming astronauts. Additionally, scientists, teachers and students can all learn from each other and build an exciting network.

Why do we do this? Well, we want to inspire a new generation of scientists and space explorers. And that starts in the classrooms, because in fact the first people that will walk on Mars are already born, they just don’t know it yet. And that is where we need to educate and enthuse young students about space topics.

But before you can send someone to “Mars” you have to study, learn and write procedures. That was my main job during my internship. Now procedures are instructions, so a step-by-step guide on how to conduct different kinds of experiments. These are the previously talked about experiments in the Toolkits.

When my supervisor first told me to write procedures, I honestly didn’t have a clue, so I needed to do quite a bit of research on how to do it. To make it easier for you, I’ll provide some help: (just in case you are planning your own mission to Mars)

1. First, you study about Mars and how Analog Missions work, be precise!
2. Next, you learn about the experiments, understand every step!
3. Lastly, you write down every step of the experiment and some tips but make it clear to understand.

It does appear simple right? But no, it is a lot more complicated than you’d think and also 100x more fun than it sounds.

You see during my work, I got to learn how to program a game, how to build a robotic arm out of household items, how to use a 3d printer and how teamwork makes the dream work. A good foundation for a great mission.

Now, if you want to intern at the OeWF don’t hesitate. Your work will not be easy but rewarding. You’ll experience and learn not only about space missions but also about life. And if you’re still not sure and are just looking for a workplace with nice people, they’ve got those here too!

Author: Emily Ugbodu, OeWF intern

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