We had some very big news recently. NASA has been able to put a robot on the planet Mars and now we can see and get a huge amount of data from that planet. The name of the robot is Perseverance. The robot vehicle has been traveling through space for over seven months. It was able to land safely on the surface of Mars and it has sent a lot of data back to earth. I was checking the Internet and the robot could also record sounds from Mars. I listened to those sounds from a faraway planet. It was very cool.

The goal of the mission to Mars is to see if there is any life on the planet. The robot will try to see if there is any life of any kind. Did Mars have water? Did it have plants? Did some kind of insect or creature live on Mars long, long ago? These are the questions that the Perseverance robot will try to find answers for.

This is a very exciting time for space science. This is a great time for us to look up into the night sky and to see the stars. It is a good time for us to feel like we should explore the world around us and try to discover new things.

For a long time now, we are all feeling very unhappy. The corona virus is a very unhappy event in our lives. It makes us stay home. The corona virus is the reasons why we cannot go out with friends, or go shopping freely, or go to a cafe or restaurant to enjoy friends and family. It is a dark time. But the landing of the Perseverance robot on Mars gives us some hope.

Our planet is a very small place. We are only one small world in a universe of so many stars and galaxies. There are millions of stars in space. There are millions and millions of worlds in space too. We are only one. But we can learn more about space and science. We can begin to explore and try to see if there is more life in the universe.

Science, and the study of science, are very important to us. When we study science we learn about things that are real. We study biology, chemistry, and physics in school. When we know more about science we can study micro-biology, astronomy, and chemical engineering. The world of science is huge. In biology we can study plants, insects, animals, and humans. In chemistry we can study gases and solid things. We can understand metals and stones. We know how things are made. In physics we can understand how things move, and how things are connected to each other and how they affect each other.

But science is also about imagination. Science teaches us to think big. Science teaches us to look up into the sky and to try to understand the universe. Science is real. Science is the best way to see our world. And yes, science is not easy to understand. So if you have questions about science, please ask your science teachers here at Otemae. They are excellent teachers and know a lot about science. Also, if your teacher does not know the answer to your question they know how to ask other people to get more opinions.

It seems that our purpose in life, as humans, is to always learn and discover something new. We have seen many spaceships over the years. The Vostok from Russia was in space in 1961. The Soyuz was in 1967. The Apollo in 1968 through 1975. The Space Shuttles from 1981-2011. The Chinese Tiangon One and Two Space Stations from 2012 through 2019. It is amazing. And there is more to come. The spaceships are being developed, and we hope they will go further into space and learn more about the universe.

So if you are feeling sad now because of the corona virus, remember that there is much life coming soon. There are more things to learn and discover. The landing on Mars is an incredible thing for science and we will learn much about the universe because of this. Our job is to look up to the night sky, to feel inspiration and hope, and to do our best to learn more about the world and universe around us.