Te Papa is hosting NASA’s Mars Opportunity Rover replica over the school holidays. Visitors can learn more about robotics, space exploration and engineering through hands-on activities and events.
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landed on Mars on 24 January 2004. The rover was planned as a 90-day mission to search for geological clues regarding environmental conditions on early Mars and to assess whether those environments were conducive to life.
The Opportunity Rover replica provides a tangible tool for explaining planetary exploration and engineering design to people of all ages. The 3D-printed replica rover was created by The University of Auckland’s Centre for Automation and Robotic Engineering Science (CARES), in collaboration with New Dexterity research group. Motorized components and computer vision systems have been incorporated into the structure to simulate some of the rover’s movements and interact with visitors in a socially fun manner. The 'Oppy' replica will be displayed from Friday until Thursday 10 October.
Free events include:
- Storytime and Q&A session on Friday 27 September
- Good Night Oppy movie screening and talk on Friday 4 October
- Good Night Oppy movie screening on Thursday 10 October
Location: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 55 Cable Street, Wellington
For more information: www.tepapa.govt.nz/visit/event/q-a-storytime-nasa-s-mars-opportunity-rover-replica
Related content
Read about the first Mars landing, Curiosity rover lands on Mars and Updates from Mars. For more updates on this mission see, The Curiosity rover.
Try one of these citizen science projects that use robots to help discover more about the planet Mars:
- The Planet Four project wants help from citizen scientists to help explore the surface and weather of the Mars south polar region.
- Use the AI4Mars project to help scientists train Mars rovers how to classify Martian terrain.
Explore space more by browsing our space resources under the Astronomy topic.
