Mission Control’s Rover Driving Academy educational program has added MDA Space as a new sponsor which will allow the program to continue.
Mission Control said that the program to date has reached over 4,000 students and was developed with support from the Canadian Space Agency.
The Rover Driving Academy is free for students in grades six to nine across Canada. Mission Control says the program was “Designed to teach students about space science, robotic exploration, and team building, the activity culminates with a hands-on immersive experience controlling a real lunar rover prototype in Mission Control’s Moonyard.”
That Moonyard is a 4,000 square foot lunar analogue testbed located in Ottawa.
Teachers can register online, download education material and schedule a date for remote access to the Moonyard for their students missions.
Mission Control has developed Spacefarer™ and SpacefarerAI™ software is used by customers for mission development and operations for either “scientific and commercial opportunities on the Earth, Moon, Mars, and beyond.”
In June Mission Control will see its software launched on satellite for what they’re calling the Persistence Mission. That mission “will demonstrate a Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) pipeline and corresponding software technology stack for deployment, characterization, and improvement of AI models in a production / operational environment for Edge devices in space.”
In a press release Ewan Reid, Founder & CEO of Mission Control said, “Through their use of Spacefarer™ students directly contribute to Canada’s effort to return humans to the Moon. “The thousands of hours using our software in these educational missions allows our engineers to gather data, find and fix bugs and ultimately improve the product for use on future missions. Space exploration is about collaboration and bringing people together, and we’re thrilled to partner with MDA Space to continue to inspire young minds and help shape the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers.”
Ian McLeod, VP Corporate Development at MDA Space added, “Rovers have always played a critical role in space exploration and the demand for space technology and STEM skills is rapidly increasing as the global space economy grows. By supporting the Rover Driving Academy and the growth of small and medium businesses, we are building a strong foundation for Canada’s lunar exploration efforts, while also inspiring and educating the next generation of space leaders with hands-on experience.”