In Fall 2006, students from the FIRST LASA Robotics Team and the LBJ High School art department visited with Mark T. Lemmon, Associate Professor in Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M College Station. Dr. Lemmon's work with the Mars Exploration Rover project involves the study of the Mars atmosphere and how it affects the rovers, Spirit and Opportunity.
Members of the robotics team were given a presentation regarding Dr. Lemmon's work, including a slideshow with 3D glasses. They learned about how Mars dust plays a signifigant role with the rovers and their solar panels. Dr. Lemmon also described the phenomenon of dust devils on the surface of Mars. The team was then given a tour of the Atmospheric Sciences building and learned about Texas weather phenomenon such as severe storms and tornadoes. On the trip back to Austin, the students decided that their art project would be a dust devil funnel, symbolizing Dr. Lemmon's on-going contributions to the MER project.
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