Local teens from Chittenango entered a competition to showcase their skills in robotics and drones, and their skills won them a trip to NASA in Houston.
Riley Ellis is part of the winning team, called “Bears in Space.”
“We were the last team to show off our run,” said Ellis of the competition featuring four teams. “We ended up winning the competition along with the mission patch and social media keep-up.”
The robot developed by “Bears in Space” is designed to mimic a rover on the moons surface, and the team has a map of craters that the robot is driven on through the use of a computer program.
Teams competing were to perform tasks such as picking up a designed lunar module with a drone, and techniques ranged widely from team to team.
Winning the competition came with a trip to NASA in Houston, where the teens saw astronauts training in special facilities.
Students had the opportunity to listen to speakers and see for themselves what it’s like to work at NASA.
The students from Chittenango High School hope to compete in a different simulation happening next year mimicking the surface of Mars, and all are excited to get started on their new endeavors this school year.
