Welcome to the Little Dipper Challenge!
The ELO₂ consortium (of which One Giant Leap Australia Foundation is part of) has created a challenge for young students to learn about lunar rovers and what they are used for in anticipation of Australia’s first lunar rover – part of the Australian Space Agency’s Moon to Mars Trailblazer Initiative.
Landing an Australian rover on the lunar surface will highlight the kind of space and STEM endeavours that children can aspire to, creating a ‘where were you’ moment that hasn’t been seen since Australia played a crucial role in helping NASA bring TV images of the first Moonwalk to the world in 1969.
ELO₂ Little Dipper Challenge invites children aged 5-12 years old to experiment with common materials found at home or school in a creative project about space. The mission is to build and test a scoop, like the one that will be on the Australian lunar rover, to collect soil from the Moon.
In the challenge, kids will learn from ELO₂ engineers about the Moon’s environment and what it takes to design and test their inventions. By using everyday materials like Lego, recycled plastics, cardboard, and ice cream sticks, primary school aged children can create and test their very own scoop designs in homemade lunar regolith (Moon dust).
The goal of ELO₂, One Giant Leap Australia Foundation and the Little Dipper Challenge is to use this opportunity to capture the imagination of the Australian community and excite kids to have fun with science.
Together, our goal is to make STEM and space exploration accessible to all and to inspire Australia to get involved!
