ASU ignites China's youth for Mars exploration

Forty highly energized Chinese high school students, racing a deadline, used bagfuls of everyday materials from the dollar store to build models of the first human outpost on Mars. The students, who came from all over China, were competing in the final round of the China Youth Space Academy, an academic challenge joint partnership with Arizona State University, the Chinese government-run Web site, China.com.cn, and Beijing's Flying Spirit advertising agency.

The China Youth Space Academy aims to excite high school students about space science and engineering - a major focus for ASU - and to create a communication channel for students from the United States and China to understand and respect each other's culture.

The 15 students who scored highest among the 40 finalists will travel to ASU at the end of January. They will join a group of high school students from Nogales, Ariz., for a 10-day hands-on space exploration experience. Together, the American and Chinese students will work on space exploration projects at ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility in the School of Earth and Space Exploration. For the complete story, visit: http://asunews.asu.edu/20071120_SpaceAcademy.