Orange County Register

'Robots & Us' will soon feature Mars Rover models. Image coutesy of NASA/JPL.

The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity may be way out there on, well, Mars. But now you can see a full-sized facsimile of the robots up close at the Discover Science Center in downtown Santa Ana.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has loaned a model of the Mars Exploration Rovers (their formal name) to the science center. Visitors can check out the model starting next week. It is the latest addition to the recently-opened “Robots & Us” exhibit, which has struggled for attendance in its opening month. (In an earlier version of this story, we incorrectly reported that the model was donated; it is only on loan.)

“This is a great opportunity for kids and families to experience the wonder of space exploration,” says Julie Smith, a spokeswoman for the science center. “Just think — two little hardworking robots are out there on another planet, right this very moment.”

Spirit — the real one — has been making the news lately: the rover has been trapped, spinning its wheels in place in loose Martian soil since around April. Read Sciencedude’s interview with JPL rover driver and expert Julie Townshend, who explains how Spirit got stuck in the first place. Now NASA is actually sticking a working model of the rover inside a sandbox (click link for video) to figure out how to get Spirit unstuck.

“Robots & Us” debuted in May, and showcases how robots work and explores their importance in history. Kids can build robots, try to cheer up a virtual robot face by waving to it, and see how a live ant colony is inspiring “social robots” to help with human tasks.

Kids build robots at "Robots & Us" exhibit. Image courtesy of Discover Science Center

Also: Take a look at Spirit and Opportunity’s official pat-on-the-back from the U.S. House of Representatives.

– by Ben Young Landis

Follow Sciencedude on Twitter at grobbins and on Facebook at facebook.com/garyrobbins

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