China's ardor for a red planet

The day after Orion, NASA's new spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to Mars, made its first test flight, a group of Chinese kids created their own Mars rover at Beijing Planetarium.

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Li Manting, 10, draws a "rover train." "I hope it will carry tourists from earth," she says.

Her classmate Shi Zekai equips his rover with advanced weaponry, "in case it is threatened by aliens." He give his rover a cool name:"Rock Crusher."

Li and Shi are students at Lantian Fengyuan School, a private school open to migrant workers' children. They and 35 schoolmates are at the planetarium to watch 3D space films, listen to space scientists and, of course, create their own rovers.

The event is hosted by China Features, a leading feature story provider, and the New Citizen Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the learning environment for migrant children.

According to report by the All-China Women's Federation, China's migrant workers in 2013 had more than 35 million children and the numbers are increasing. These children, whose parents are mostly from rural areas, usually have limited access to the fun side of science, says Lin Zhaoxing, secretary-general of New Citizen.

"We hope that this opens the door for them to learn more about Mars, the universe and the space industry," says Zhu Jin, curator of the planetarium.

Jia Yang, the deputy chief designer of "Yutu," China's first lunar rover, tells the children how a rover is designed, then stands back to watch as the children embellish it with their own creativity.

Li Mingzhen, 10, adds another camera "to take a selfie when landing on Mars." Yang Yang, 9, gives it a magnetic arm to attract minerals.

Huang Jinkai, 11, draws a sprinkler on the bottom of his rover and explains that "water will make the tough stones soft, which protects the wheel of the rover." He also adds a "take off button," hoping that it will fly and get a birds-eye view of the Martian surface, except there are no birds on Mars.

Jia Yang believes his talk must have sown the seeds of space science in some children's hearts. He recalls that, "When I was eight years old, I read a book on the solar system and my interest in space began."