Four Portland Community College students are joining the
international effort to explore Mars as a potentially safe,
habitable place. The students were chosen as National Community
College Aerospace Scholars, a NASA educational program. From May
1-3, they will join dozens of other students across the country
at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif. to design and
build prototype Mars rovers. The prototypes should be able to
navigate a course, collect rocks and water and return to a home
base. Students will receive briefings from NASA scientists and
engineers. A competitive application process required each
student to first design their own mission to Mars. Justin
Martinez, a 29-year-old PCC student studying electrical
engineering, proposed sending a "biosphere lander," a capsule
holding different types of algae. Martinez, a Cedar Hills
resident, said he's transferring to Oregon State University in
the fall and hopes to do more research about renewable energy.
He explained his approach to his proposal and