Pope John students compete at MIT

SPARTA — On Friday, Jan. 16, Pope John’s Zero Robotics team traveled to MIT to compete against top teams from across the globe, running their game strategy algorithms on actual satellites in orbit on board the International Space Station.

The Pope John students handily won their quarterfinal matches, but were eliminated by a fraction of a point in the semifinals.

Out of the hundreds of the top high schools world-wide who began the competition last September, only two teams advanced farther in the tournament than Pope John.

Team members met astronaut “Cady” Colman on site while watching three astronauts on board the ISS serve as referees in the game of maneuvering around and photographing asteroids and comets. They were also briefed by NASA and European Space agency (ESA) project managers on current space missions that are similar to this year’s game.

The visit included a private reception at the MIT museum, campus tours, a visit to the MIT Space Systems Laboratory, and a session with admissions staff.

They were also interviewed by LucasFilms for possible inclusion in the trailer for the newest Star Wars movie.