Eyes On Mars
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Abstract
- Inspire school students to pursue a STEM career by providing educational resources suited to their age groups, especially targeting schools with low science capital. This aim will aid towards the STFC public engagement core value 4 aimed at improving our reach with diverse audiences.
- Spread awareness of the UK's involvement of the ExoMars mission within school groups from ages 7 - 16 .
- Spread awareness of the UK's involvement of the ExoMars mission with the general public via social media. This aim will contribute towards the STFC public engagement core value 1 of showcasing the huge range of science and technology research and development STFC undertakes.
- Raise awareness within school students that a career in STEM and/or space isn't limited to the academically elite.
- Spread awareness of the UK's involvement of the ExoMars mission within school groups from ages 7 - 16 .
- Spread awareness of the UK's involvement of the ExoMars mission with the general public via social media. This aim will contribute towards the STFC public engagement core value 1 of showcasing the huge range of science and technology research and development STFC undertakes.
- Raise awareness within school students that a career in STEM and/or space isn't limited to the academically elite.
Planned Impact
- All our resources will be available for free online and we will have a central website where we will keep a record of all these resources. The website will be easily available on all social media channels where teachers, students and families can easily find them. Also will be shared on various platforms like STEM learning and tes.com to make it easily accessible for teachers. The website will also promote other outreach and educational projects that are related to the UK's involvement in Mars Exploration by other institutions like the Royal Astronomical Society, UCL, Natural History Museum, European Space Agency etc. This will contribute towards the 2nd STFC core value of building the right partnerships to improve the quality, reach, and impact of our engagement even further.
- On social media, we have asked STEM influencers to share our content and main website who have active outreach accounts such as @thespacegal (Emily Calandrelli), @RocketWomen, @theengineeringgals and many more. This will aid towards the STFC core value 3 aimed at developing and supporting the STEM influencers in the field.
- We also plan to present the success of this project after completion at conferences such as Europlanet Science Congress 2022, the National Astronomy meeting, the wider ExoMars Science team meeting where we can share what went well and what we could have improved on during this project so others can learn from our process. This will also publicize the project as it will be available online. We aim to do the same at other notable planetary science and science communication conferences including the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Journal.
- We have been and plan to be in contact with various institutions including the National STEM Center, the UK Space Agency and the BBC's Sky at Night team to help disseminate our resources. We have already been in touch with Ingmar Kamalagharan at the UK Space Agency, and they are keen to support and collaborate with us on this project. Along with these, we will promote the project through the Royal Astronomical Society's newsletters as both of us are also RAS fellows.
- On social media, we have asked STEM influencers to share our content and main website who have active outreach accounts such as @thespacegal (Emily Calandrelli), @RocketWomen, @theengineeringgals and many more. This will aid towards the STFC core value 3 aimed at developing and supporting the STEM influencers in the field.
- We also plan to present the success of this project after completion at conferences such as Europlanet Science Congress 2022, the National Astronomy meeting, the wider ExoMars Science team meeting where we can share what went well and what we could have improved on during this project so others can learn from our process. This will also publicize the project as it will be available online. We aim to do the same at other notable planetary science and science communication conferences including the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Journal.
- We have been and plan to be in contact with various institutions including the National STEM Center, the UK Space Agency and the BBC's Sky at Night team to help disseminate our resources. We have already been in touch with Ingmar Kamalagharan at the UK Space Agency, and they are keen to support and collaborate with us on this project. Along with these, we will promote the project through the Royal Astronomical Society's newsletters as both of us are also RAS fellows.
Publications
| Description | Ovarian Cancer Action Collaboration |
| Organisation | Ovarian Cancer Action |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | We have been raising awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms by including information about ovarian cancer in all of our filter wheel information packs. Each teacher or demonstrator receives a symptom card and information sheet about ovarian cancer when they get their resource packs. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Ovarian Cancer Action provided us with 100 free symptom cards for us to include in the material packs. |
| Impact | Many participants are interested in the link between Eyes on Mars and Ovarian Cancer Action. Rosalind Franklin, who the ExoMars rover is named after, died of ovarian cancer in 1958. Our founder's (Catherine Regan) Mum died of undiagnosed ovarian cancer in 2012. This link between the future of Mars research and Catherine's personal life has been something we have included in the project to help raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | BBC R4 Today - Space |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview on BBC R4 Today, on UK's successful space sector, in industry & academia (07:21 UT, including Rosalind Franklin), 4 January 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001gk5x |
| Description | BBC Radio Surrey - space |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on BBC Radio Surrey, on UK's successful space sector, in industry & academia (from 2h41), including Rosalind Franklin), and work of UCL-MSSL, 5 January 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dp54yf |
| Description | BBC Radio Surrey - space |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on BBC Radio Surrey, on Cornwall space launch outcome, implications and UK space sector, 10 January 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Business Insider - Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Quoted in Markets Insider, 'Elon Musk's Plan To Colonize Mars Faces Several Problems Including 'Cosmic Vandalism' Of Life That Already Exists', 17 Oct. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/elon-musk-s-plan-to-colonize-mars-faces-several-prob... |
| Description | CPS Mars event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk 'Looking for Life on Mars with Rosalind Franklin', part of UCL-Birkbeck Centre for Planetary Sciences 'Adventures in Planetary Science' 'Is there life on Mars?' event, 15 September 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/planetary-sciences/events/2022/sep/adventures-planetary-science-there-life-mar... |
| Description | Engineering panel for ESERO UK Mars day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Chaired panel on Engineering in Space, for ESERO-UK Mars day, 7 March 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mars-day-2023-tickets-435634964907?aff=ebdssbdestsearch |
| Description | Filter Wheel Activity, Effingham Brownies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Members of the Effingham Brownies listened to the Eyes on Mars presentation and then created their own filter wheel. The participants were interested to learn about Rosalind Franklin and the evolution of women in science. They were also interested in discussing the different paths into space as a career. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Filter Wheel Activity, Jacob Wells Scouts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Students in the Jacob Wells Scouts group listened to the Eyes on Mars presentation and then made their own filter wheel. Many of them asked lots of questions about the Rosalind Franklin Rover and the involvement of the UK in Mars exploration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Filter Wheel Activity, Park Mead Primary School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 60 students from Park Mead Primary School, Surrey, listened to the Eyes on Mars presentation and then made their own filter wheel like the on onboard the Rosalind Franklin Rover. Students enjoyed hearing about who Rosalind Franklin was, and learning that the camera onboard the rover was made very locally to them. Many of them stated at the end of the session that they were now interested in space as a career. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Filter Wheel Activity, St Martins Primary School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I delivered the Eyes on Mars presentation and filter wheel activity to two year 5 classes at St Martins Primary School, Surrey. 60 students took part in the activity, learning about the ExoMars mission and PanCam. Students then made their own filter wheel activity with the resources we provided afterwards. Students reported that they enjoyed learning that PanCam was made very locally to them, and making their own version of the filter wheel that was going on the next Mars rover. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
| Description | Filter Wheel Activity, West Ashtead School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We visited West Ashtead School after being recommended from a previous teacher involved. I delivered sessions to two Year 5 classes who were very interested to hear about the UK involvement in space exploration. There was lots of discussion about different careers in space that aren't related to physics or astrophysics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Guardian, Venus interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview for the Guardian on Venus exploration, Target Venus not Mars for first crewed mission to another planet, experts say, 23 September 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/sep/25/target-venus-not-mars-for-first-crewed-mission-to-an... |
| Description | Horizon group foresight interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview for foresight project on 'Disruption, Transformation and Resilience' by Horizon Group, 20 February 2023 (included Rosalind Franklin, JUICE) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Interact Conference, Cardiff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interact is a public engagement conference for the physical sciences. It was held in September 2022 in Cardiff. We held a stall there talking about Eyes on Mars and highlighting our feedback so far. We made multiple connections during this activity that we have since utilised, and got constructive feedback on how to improve the activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Interview for Mail online |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Info for Mail online, on life in our solar system and beyond, What COULD aliens look like? Forget little green men - life on distant exoplanets may resemble HUMANS, experts say, Mail online, 25 Feb 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11772799/What-aliens-look-like-Forget-little-green-m... |
| Description | LIYSF visit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Introduction to MSSL - London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) visit, 2 August 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Land on a Lecture - Mars week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Land on a lecture: Looking for life on Mars, part of ESERO-UK Mars week, 8 March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Lecture on Mars Express for ESERO Mars Week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Land on a lecture: 20 Years of Mars Express - Land on a Lecture for ESERO-UK Mars Week 2023, 8 Mar 2023 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/20-years-of-mars-express-land-on-a-lecture-for-mars-week-2023-tickets... |
| Description | Mail online - life in solar system |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Info for Mail online on Where could aliens exist in our solar system?, 21 Feb 2023 (included Rosalind Franklin, JUICE) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11775109/Where-aliens-exist-solar-system.html |
| Description | Mars Hour presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on Mars Express & Rosalind Franklin as part of ESERO-UK 'Mars hour' on Mars Day, 5 March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.stem.org.uk/primary/enrichment/mars-day |
| Description | Mars week debate ESERO/CPS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Mars week 2024 debate: Are human missions essential or are robotics the future?, part of ESERO-UK Mars week, 7 March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/planetary-sciences/events/2024/mar/mars-week-2024-debate-are-human-missions-es... |
| Description | Material distribution |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | We distributed 46 packs to school groups for them to make their own filter wheel and have a lesson taught with Eyes on Mars materials. Many of the students stated that after the lesson they now believed they could become a scientist or work in space if they wanted to, which they did not believe was an option for them before they took part in the activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Newsweek Mars interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview for Newsweek on rover design NASA-China Mars Rover Controversy: Why Robot Designs Are Similar, 4 November 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.newsweek.com/china-space-agency-nasa-copying-rover-design-mars-1756887 |
| Description | Open day talk - Rosalind Franklin mission |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk on Looking for life on Mars with the Rosalind Franklin rover for UCL-MSSL Mars open day, 8 March 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mars-open-evening-at-the-mullard-space-science-laboratory-tickets-516... |
| Description | Panelist for AI in Space Innovation Event, King's College London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited panel member on space science for AI in Space Innovation Event, King's College London, 8 March 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/ai-in-space-innovation |
| Description | Posts on Eyes On Mars social media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Creating and posting on Eyes On Mars Social Media channels to spread awareness of Mars Science and careers in space. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | R4 Today interview on Moon and Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on BBC R4 Today programme (0740) on lunar and Mars exploration (with Helen Sharman), 14 February 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001w85p |
| Description | School visit (Croydon) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Talk at Croydon High School on 'The weather in space and looking for life on Mars', 29 January 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.croydonhigh.gdst.net/newsletters/news-links-2-february-2024/ |
| Description | Science News |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Quote in Science news on Rosalind Franklin mission, Europe pledges to launch Mars rover delayed by war, 28 Nov 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.science.org/content/article/europe-pledges-launch-mars-rover-delayed-war |
| Description | Talk (Mars) at European Astrofest |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk at European Astrofest on 'Looking for life on Mars - Rosalind Franklin mission update', 2 February 2024 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://europeanastrofest.com/ |
| Description | Talk: National Space Centre, Leicester - filter wheel activity for summer school students & talk about Mars/Eyes On Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | 17 school students and professionals from UK Space Centre attended event where I spoke about Mars and our Eyes on Mars activity. We initiated collaboration to distribute filter wheel packs during their summer school. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | The Conversation - Venus |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Article on Venus: the trouble with sending people there, The Conversation, 29 September 2022. Over 50,000 readers, media followup |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://theconversation.com/venus-the-trouble-with-sending-people-there-191534 |
| Description | UCL CPS debate Mars v Europa |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Debate Mars Vs Europa! Which is the best place to search for life beyond Earth?, UCL-Birkbeck CPS for UK-ESERO Mars week, 9 March 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/planetary-sciences/events/2023/mar/mars-vs-europa-which-best-place-search-life... |
| Description | UCL Science Centre talk, Mars |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Talk for UCL Science Centre on Looking for life on Mars: the Rosalind Franklin rover, 25 Nov 2022 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/physics-astronomy/outreach/science-centre-lectures |
| Description | Winds in our solar system talk, Finland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Coates, A.J., keynote 'Agora' talk on 'Winds in our Solar System', at Aboagora Symposium arts-science event, "Wind" https://aboagora.fi/programme/, Sibelius Museum, Turku, Finland, August 2022. Talk available online, 25 Oct 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiMn9Pgi7D7A... |