Rover Driving Academy
3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF! Camp STEAM campers had an opportunity to test out their astronaut boots at summer camp, with an opportunity to have a real moon rover driving experience on a simulated lunar surface! Our partnership with The Canadian Space Agency, with support from Mission Control and Pinnguaq Association, brought the moon and this amazing experience to our campers!
During summer camp 2024, three of our Camp STEAM locations had the opportunity to participate in The Rover Driving Academy; a program for students to become a part of the lunar research team! They were able to explore lunar science and execute space missions covering a variety of exciting topics like lunar geology, tidal locking, lunar phases, and rover operations.
Teamwork and collaboration were key for our campers, who worked in teams of five. First, they went to The Rover Academy to learn how to drive their rovers. There they learned that to work properly, each rover required five operators: Science, Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) Operator, Driver, Navigation, and Safety. Each operator controled a different part of the rover, each critical for a different reason, and all had to work together to get the lunar job done!
Throughout the activity, campers were encouraged to work together to control their rover and do a variety of different missions within the simulation. Campers switched driving roles as well, so each had the opportunity to try out the various aspects of their mission.
Campers thought this rare opportunity was out of this world! We’re delighted at Camp STEAM to bring these unique opportunities to our campers to experience just one of the out-of-this-world careers that STEAM areas of study have to offer!
