NASA’s IceBite project is in Antarctica testing a drill for possible use on a future mission to Mars. In a recent trial of the drill’s remote-operations software, the operators were a bit younger than usual. Students in Robert Palassou’s fifth-grade class at Valley View School in Pleasanton, California, controlled the IceBreaker drill from their classroom. IceBite is a project funded by NASA’s ASTEP (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets) program.
Visit Astrobiology Magazine to ask the IceBite scientists questions while they are in the field!