Grade six students in London win national space competition

Sixth graders hope to drive a lunar rover A team of sixth graders in London got the chance to virtually drive a lunar rover. CTV London's Jenn Basa reports.

Have you ever wondered what it was like to drive on the moon? A team of sixth graders from a class in London Ont., have the opportunity to drive a rover on the moon in a mock-landscape environment.

Grade six students, Shreya Ravindiran, Sebastian Auger, and Corinna Siu are part of the winning team that will get the opportunity to virtually drive a lunar rover that Canadensys is creating.

"I feel like it's a big accomplishment for us," said 11-year-old Ravindiran. "It feels special and shocking that we won," she said.

The students who won the Lunar Rover Research Challenge are enrolled at the Lambeth Public School. This is a new national space competition offered by Let’s Talk Science, Canadensys Aerospace Corporation, and Avalon Space. They are one of 3500 students from across Canada who participated.

The winners in the national competition come from Niagara Falls, Penetanguishene, Lacombe, and London.

"I was really happy when the kids won," said Vandana Bhalla, the student’s teacher at Lambeth Public School.

"As soon as I got the email I was jumping up and down with excitement because they probably didn’t realize what a huge deal it was," she said.

The winners of the competition will be able to virtually control a Canadensys lunar rover, which will allow them to interact with technology that will be a part of Canada’s upcoming space mission.

Canadensys will build Canada’s first lunar rover, which is set to be sent to the moon by 2026.

The classes involved were tasked with a mission simulation by working as a team to drive the rover and look for ice deposits in a mock landscape on the moon. The challenge helped students work together and create a mission to explore the moon.

"The skills they have learned, I can see them doing critical thinking, fast problem solving, and the most critical thing for them was communicating with other people," said Bhalla. "They really excelled."

The free competition is geared towards youth from ages 11-14 and will run again in the new year.