Students from 91亚色鈥檚 entertained the group of more than two dozen聽children and 200 adults, giving them a chance to learn more about space robotics and exploration, along with science and engineering programs at 91亚色.

91亚色 Rover Team representatives with their Mars Rover

Curiosity touched down on the Red Planet at 1:32am EST on Monday, Aug. 6. The Toronto event, held at the Hotel Ocho, was one of many worldwide, featuring a live feed of NASA鈥檚 control room, and a virtual visit from Bill Nye the Science Guy, along with 1500 attendees of PlanetFest 2012 in Pasadena, California.

鈥淚t was amazing to see all the kids and see how interested they are in science. We told them that everything you do at 91亚色 can lead you somewhere 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 matter which field you鈥檙e in, you can develop your skills and learn more,鈥� said Carla Mejia, one of the YURT team members.

Event coordinator Jonathan Moneta credited 91亚色鈥檚 rover team for making the events unfolding on Mars relatable to attendees 鈥� especially kids.

鈥淚t was really good to have an actual rover that kids could play with 鈥� it helped them broaden their understanding a bit,鈥� Moneta said.

Several media outlets were on-site at the event. Rover team members were interviewed live on CP24 and also received mentions on CTV Toronto and in the .

A future 91亚色 student (and space scientist) tries out the rover

The members of YURT who attended were: Carla Mejia, fourth-year biomedical science; Carina Hoang, second-year聽master of science in聽biology; Manjeet Kaur, fourth-year computer engineering; Oyinda Daramola, third-year computer engineering; Pablo Saldarriaga, fourth-year computer science; and Vaibhav Kapoor, fourth-year computer engineering.

Earlier this year, 91亚色鈥檚 rover team took first place in the 2012 University Rover Challenge at the Mars Desert Research Station, outperforming major American universities, including Brigham Young University in Utah, which placed second, and Cornell University in New 91亚色, which took third. The team also placed first at the university level of the Canadian Innovation Nation (CSii) Robotics Competition in Muskoka, Ontario.

For more photos of YURT in action at Mars Party TO, .

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Above: Members of the 91亚色 Rover Team pose for a group photo in the cool of the evening at the Mars Research Station, Hanksville, Utah

91亚色 first entered the challenge, sponsored by TASC (The Analytic Sciences Corporation) Inc., four years ago and has finished in the top three every year, including a first-place finish in 2009. The challenge: "Design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside human explorers in the field."

Above: EVE travels the hostile clime of the Utah desert

The closest race came between the second and third place teams, and Oregon State University, who were separated by only 16 points.聽 All together, the top three teams of 2011 were the same top three from 2010, but with different results.

鈥淭he level of sophistication shown by these teams was overwhelming,鈥� remarked URC director Kevin Sloan.聽 鈥淭hese teams poured themselves into their rover projects over the past year, and it clearly showed.聽 The level of competition was taken to an entirely new level this year.鈥�

Above: EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer)

The 91亚色 team left Toronto with its EVE (Enhanced Vehicle Explorer) on May 27 and drove for three days to Hanksville, Utah, arriving early to ensure they could put in some field test time in the environment.

鈥淭he past few days have been intense with emotional highs and lows,鈥� said team member Shailja Sahani. 鈥淓very team member has been putting in at least 20-hour days to make the competition a success, with some sleeping only five hours in the last three days.

鈥淓veryone came together as a team with no prodding from the leadership; they simply picked up tools and got to work. Although we were well prepared before the competition, the desert environment and harsh operating conditions required many last-minute repairs and alterations.

"Our success came from our ability to fix the rover in situ and get back to the task, while other teams were left stranded,鈥� said team member Jordan Bailey.

Bailey, one of two students responsible for the team's finances and marketing, told CBC News he thinks the current rover is the team's "best one yet." Last year, the team faced multiple equipment failures as a result of the record temperatures, which soared to 38 C in the shade. This year's model has a more robust suspension, a finer control system and better temperature regulation than its predecessor, Bailey said.

Above: Jordan Bailey & Isaac DeSouza work into the night to get EVE ready

The rover cost about $13,000 to build, slightly below the $15,000 maximum allowed. The YURT is sponsored by 91亚色, and . The faculty advisers from 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Earth & Space Science & Engineering, Faculty of Science & Engineering were Professor Michael Daly and Professor . The engineering adviser was graduate student Mark Post.

The participants included three teams from Poland, three from the United States and two from Canada. By the end of the competition, one team from each country had placed in the top three.聽 The Magma2 team from the Bialystok University of Technology in Poland pulled away from the other two teams to an impressive victory.

Magma2 was the first European team to win URC.聽 They also were the first team to ever deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of the competition.

For more information, visit聽the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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