From Seville to Mars

Europa International School in Seville was visited by GMV on the 2nd of March as part of its Excellence in Science Program, which the school holds every year for students aged 12 to 16. The colonization of the planet Mars is the theme of the program for this 2021-2022 school year, which students study through different projects that address the topic from the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology.

Thus, GMV’s first presentation was about the exploration of Mars and was open to all students that take part in the Excellence Program. A brief historical overview was given of space missions to Mars, with an in-depth discussion of Exomars and Mars Sample Return that looked at the objectives and challenges of each mission, the technologies that were used, and GMV’s involvement in them.

In the second session, GMV talked about the specific technologies of space engineering required for interplanetary exploration. Students involved in the physics section of the program were able to get a closer look at the GNC systems used for launchers and for space missions like HERA and Proba-3. GMV leads the system that pilots the HERA mission, designed to study the asteroid and binary system Didymos, while Proba-3 mission is dedicated to demonstrating the technology of formation flying.

In the last part of the session, students enthusiastically participated by sharing their questions and concerns about the future of outer space, new technologies, and alternative energy sources with the speakers.

The Excellence Program’s objective is to inspire students to be interested in the fields of science, while also building their independence, scientific thinking and team-working abilities.