Abbotsford robotics students drive a lunar rover like the one that will be used in the Artemis moon mission

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ABBOTSFORD — Some Abbotsford school students enjoyed a day they will never forget this week. . The Grade 8 Robotics class at St. John Brebeuf (SJB) engaged in a unique lunar rover mission on Monday morning, remotely controlling a prototype at a test facility in Stratford, Ontario. The technology used is slated to be part of the upcoming Artemis space missions.

SJB’s Robotics class, one of the four winners of the Canada-wide Lunar Rover Research Challenge’s third season, collaborated with engineers and scientists to maneuver the lunar rover through a simulated lunar landscape, with the specific mission of seeking out ice deposits.

The Lunar Rover Research Challenge, jointly sponsored by Let’s Talk Science, the Canadian Space Agency, Avalon Space, and Canadensys Aerospace Corporation, attracted over 16,000 Canadian students in grades 6-9 across three seasons from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023.

SJB Robotics initially submitted entries for both the Spring 2023 and Fall 2023 competitions, and their success was announced in December. John Calzavara, the Robotics instructor and a teacher at SJB, attributed their triumph to the groundwork laid by the Spring 2023 class. “Our team impressed the judges with their ability to articulate their choices and lessons learned from the first mission,” said Calzavara.

Under the guidance of Leah Davis-Purcell from Avalon Space, who attended the event in Abbotsford, the students worked collaboratively to navigate the lunar-like terrain and achieve their mission goal of locating lunar ice. The teams assumed different responsibilities, from navigation and rover control to health monitoring, data analysis, and sample collection.

Despite meticulous planning, the students encountered challenges during the real-world simulation. Declan Parsons-Moore, the rover driver, highlighted the chaos of coordinating with the entire class versus working within small groups, stating, “It was a little stressful with everyone talking a lot, but we got better over time.”

The mission also presented unexpected obstacles, requiring the teams to balance risk and reward. Sjeifclyde Rauto, a navigation team member, recounted a moment when the rover approached its lowest temperature limits while gathering data. “We had to act quickly to get the rover out of the danger zone,” said Rauto.

The students not only found lunar ice earlier than anticipated but also located iron on the moon’s surface before concluding their lunar adventure. “It felt good to be part of that,” expressed Parsons-Moore.