We conducted a simulated Mars remote learning experiment today. Twenty-five 5th graders at the Hillside Intermediate School, Bridgewater, NJ, in a science class taught by Dan Fonder, participated. The students had gone over preliminary material given to with Mr. Fonder earlier, and they were very well prepared. The program was conducted under the auspices of PRISM (Professional Resources In Science and Math) at Montclair State University in Montclair NJ, led by Jackie Willis. PRISM is an organization expert in producing and delivering remote science education opportunities.

Bob McNally started the session in NJ with a live presentation, including a rendition of "On To Mars", introductory material, still photos, and a showing of the Daniel Mass MER animation, and clips of the Hab and terrain around it.

After a round of questions, the students were connected to the Hab with audio and (1 frame/sec) video. Educator Katrina Macht, Enrichment specialist introduced the MDRS and the students to each other. The connection used Marratech client software provided by Verizon, at its Access New Jersey website. ANJ provides teleconferencing resources and meeting rooms to educators and content providers. The students could see and talk to the crew at the hab, and vice versa.

Hosting at the Hab was done by Paul Graham, assisted by Crew Cmdr. Emily Colvin. Paul spoke for several minutes about the MDRS and FMARS, the work being done, and about Mars, pausing for questions at several times. Then the floor was turned over to the Hillside students. After a pause in which they waited to see who would speak first, a 5th grader named Hannah broke the ice, and the kids lined up to ask their questions, and only stopped when the period (and their school day) ended 20 minutes later.

The questions were all good, some what you might expect (how many, how long, food, etc) and some showed deep comprehension such as the young woman who asked if the robot Rover Crew 60 has with them could substitute for a second crewman on an EVA, or act in the course of a emergency. Another student asked (offline) if medical emergencies were dealt with in simulation, or would the simulation be ended. All the questions showed thoughtful engagement and distinct curiosity. Paul and Emily and Jonathan answered questions with aplomb and insight. Pixel the Rodenator made a popular appearance.

Lessons learned include the relative simplicity of setting up remote video and Voice/Video over Internet connections, as Bob and Emily tested not only Marratech but iChat/AIM hookups, all found to be workable at the Hab's limited bandwidth capability if slow video was accepted. (separate report to follow). The program was a huge success, the students applauded loud and long, and the teachers also said the program was terrific. A faster internet connection at the Hab would allow a faster frame rate for the video portion of the connection to/from the Hab, which was mentioned a distracting factor in the presentation, though not critical.

The success of this test points toward more and better programs being planned and scheduled for next year at MDRS and perhaps even FMARS, and distributed via internet to more than one classroom at a time. Further ahead, just as the MDRS foreshadows eventual human exploration of Mars, programs like this foreshadow the immense opportunity for remote learning that a trip to and exploration of Mars would provide.