美國小姐妹複製火星探測器 創舉始於好奇心

There's no stopping these two science sisters.

Meet Camille and Genevieve Beatty, who at 13 and 11 are being hailed for building a functioning scale model of the Mars rover that is now a permanent fixture at the famed New York Hall of Science.

The Beatty rover is a near replica of the early version NASA sent to Mars in 2004 and was unveiled in early August with hoopla that's made the red-headed North Carolina siblings science rock stars.

"To have two young girls building our Mars rover is exactly the kind of thing we want to have happen here," said Margaret Honey, president and CEO of the science center that sits on the grounds of the 1964 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in the borough of Queens.

The girls' drive to build their rover was inspired by a documentary on the robotic exploration of the Red Planet.

But their love of science all started with a little "destructive curiosity," says their father, Robert Beatty, who guided their enthusiasm for engineering.

"Camille kept taking things apart. She would bring me a dismantled remote-control box or a dismantled clock, and she’d say, ‘Dad, what’s this little green thing in here.’”

He didn’t have all the answers, but he was intrigued by her curiosity and asked if she wanted to build something herself.

You bet they did.

From remote controls . . . to robots

Then life in the Beatty household started to get interesting. The sisters went from taking things apart to putting things together.

"We would just experiment," said Camille. "We started small, using off-the-shelf RadioShack parts. Then we decided let's go huge with it . . . and build a robot!"

Over the course of two years, the Beatty family built several robots — ones that could roll, crawl and even fly.

The family also built a website chronicling the girls' robot-making adventures. Initially meant to keep family and friends up to date on various projects, the Beatty Robotics site quickly gained a following.

From North Carolina . . . to the Big Apple

Even the folks at the New York Hall of Science were impressed. They were already planning to redo the Mars exhibit when they decided to commission the girls and their dad.

"We didn't set out to look for two girls to build our Mars rover. We were actually looking for companies that had robotics expertise," said Honey.

The Beatty girls' Mars rover isn't a toy or a model. It's a remarkable working version with more than 750 parts, many of them built by the family from scratch. It has rotating wheels and sensors that keep it from bumping into walls. It also has a high-tech suspension system that allows it to grapple with rough terrain.

"We studied the actual rover very closely," their father said. "The pictures, the drawings. ... We did everything we could to replicate it in every way."

A family that builds robots . . .

What's the secret to keeping children’s interest in longer-term projects? A former mechanical engineer, Robert Beatty believes in sparking the girls’ interest but letting them do all the work.

"They get the screwdriver or soldering iron. They are doing the work and so stay very engaged."

He says the experience has had a very positive role in the girls' lives outside the workshop, as well.

"One of my main goals in this was to give them a sense of self-empowerment. If they set up a goal, they can go and do it — whether it’s a job, climbing a mountain or building a robot."

The best part about building robots? Spending time with their dad. "It's made our bond amazingly close, between all of us," Camille said.據美國媒體8月22日報道，美國北卡羅萊納州的一對小姐妹自己動手，製作出能夠實際運轉的火星探測器模型。如今，該模型已經成爲紐約科學館的永久藏品。

卡米爾•貝蒂和吉納維芙•貝蒂分別只有13歲和11歲，她們在父親的指導下耗時2年製成了自己的探測器。貝蒂探測器絕不僅僅是模型或者玩具，它能夠實際運轉，類似於2004年美國宇航局發射的早期版本的火星探測器。

探測器由750個零件組成，其中不少是自制的。探測器裝有輪子和感應裝置，可以順利移動，不會撞牆，還有高科技懸浮系統，能夠有效應對崎嶇地形。紐約科學館8月初向公衆展示貝蒂探測器，引來一片讚揚。

姐妹們的父親羅伯特•貝蒂是一名機械工程師，指導女兒製作探測器。羅伯特表示，姐妹們熱愛科學，並從一點點“破壞性的好奇心”開始。他說：“卡米爾不斷拆分東西。她曾經拿給我一個拆開的遙控器或者鐘錶，然後說‘爸爸，這個綠色的小玩意是什麼？’”後來，姐妹們觀看了一部有關火星的紀錄片，深受感染。父親順水推舟，鼓勵她們自己動手建造探測器。從此，貝蒂家的生活越來越有趣。姐妹倆的興趣也從拆分轉向組裝。

卡米爾說：“我們當初只是試試看，用廢棄的零件從小東西開始。後來我們決定做大……造一個機器人！”過去兩年，貝蒂家人制作了多個機器人——它們可以翻滾、爬行，甚至飛翔。他們還創建了網站，記錄小姐妹製造機器人的奇異經歷。

紐約科學館工作人員注意到貝蒂的網站，並委託小姐妹及其父親製作探測器，當時，科技館已經計劃推出火星展覽。

紐約科學館主席兼首席執行官瑪格麗特•哈尼說：“我們最初並沒打算找兩個女孩來製造我們的火星探測器。我們其實在尋找有機器人專業技術的公司。”哈尼同時稱讚貝蒂姐妹們說：“兩個女孩建造火星探測器恰恰是我們希望看到的事情。”

卡米爾表示，建造機器人最棒的地方在於能和父親在一起，她說，“它使我們所有人之間的關係奇妙地密切起來。”