Seven students from the Base 11 STEM program came to Caltech on Monday (10/3/2016) and had the chance to participate in a mini Space Challenge! Ilana and Thibaud, co-chairs of the 2017 Challenge, organized a 25 min long challenge: build a rover to explore Mars.

The two teams, called Voyager and Explorer, as per Space Challenge tradition, used Knex, foam, straws, gloves, rubber bands, and tape to build a small scale rover that could propel itself. Two completely different ideas were engineered: one based on the reaction force created from the air escaping a balloon and the other based on the spring force of a rubber band!

We congratulate all students for their creativity, their team spirit, and excitement.

Learn more about Caltech/Base 11 opportunities: http://www.base11.com/programs, and if you want to participate in a Space Challenge, make sure to apply now to the 2017 challenge!

Don't forget to check out the pictures and video taken during the challenge (below, Photo & Video Credits: David Huynh)!!