"Meet members of the next generation of Mars explorers. We join Western Washington University (WWU) Professor Melissa Rice and her students at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, as they travel to meet the Perseverance Rover in real life for the first time. We then check-in with the project almost a year later during the successful touchdown of the rover on the planet's surface.
The rover, launched after our visit in July 2020, is on an interplanetary expedition to discover if there is life beyond Earth. The students’ work on various aspects of the rover mission is essential to gathering the science to support that endeavor. One more example of how WWU students Make Waves!
WWU has a very active planetary science department led by Dr. Rice. Through Dr. Rice, many Western students have become interested and involved in numerous aspects of Mars research.
This video was designed to showcase those students' work, Dr. Rice’s ongoing work, and Western’s commitment to innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity (WWU’s goal #1 in our strategic plan). We want prospective students to understand the real work being done and feel Western students’ excitement at being part of the NASA mission to Mars. We used this video through our online digital recruitment campaign."
From the Judges
Excellent video with brilliant storytelling. Creative visuals keep the audience engaged.
