From Earth to the Moon and Mars: a virtual walk on the planetary surfaces. A CISAS-UNIPD outreach activity in planetary geology.

For the second consecutive year, the University of Padua hosted a scientific communication initiative known as Science4All, which aims to convey scientific concepts in an engaging and accessible manner.

Science4All comprises two primary outreach events. The first occurs at the end of September, featuring a full-day program where young researchers and university staff organize workshops, scientific cafés, games, quizzes, and shows accessible to the public. Various stands are situated across Padua's historic center, arranged along thematic paths, while museums and university departments also offer guided tours. The second outreach event targets school groups and this year took place during the last two weeks of November. Depending on the chosen activity, students either visit university facilities or participate in dedicated workshops or seminars led by university staff at their own schools.

The Center of Studies and Activities for Space (CISAS) "Giuseppe Colombo," as an interdisciplinary center operating across multiple departments, has committed to contributing to this initiative by offering various activities. Among these, CISAS supported the organization of workshops focused on planetary geology. Given the resurgence of interest in lunar exploration and colonization, coupled with the achievements of past (e.g., Rosetta) and ongoing (e.g., Perseverance) space missions, the field of planetary geology captivates audiences with its discoveries and practical applications.

In this context, we provide an overview of the activities dedicated to the promotion of planetary geology.

An all-day long workshop dedicated to all citizens needs to find a simple, funny and speedy way to release its take-home messages. At the same time, the workshop activities need to be accessible and engaging for all ages and, why not, also captivating. Keeping this in mind, we organized a game session of Planetary Bingo. During the game, each participant was provided with a bingo card and, in order to place a marker, had to answer a series of questions on small curiosities about the geology of planetary bodies in our Solar System and beyond (e.g. Mars, Earth, Jupiter, comets). The explanation of each answer was assisted by the presentation of an explanatory image displayed on a large screen. Participants were granted the possibility to join the game anytime so that everyone could win and be rewarded with a “planetary” prize.

For the educational activity for schools, instead, we organized a full-on immersion in planetary geology dedicated to students from 5th-grade elementary school to 3rd-grade middle school. The activity was structured with an introductory part in the form of a seminar followed by a workshop in which the students had the possibility to walk on Mars and the Moon in a virtual reality (VR) environment. More in detail, during our geo-planetary seminars we held an introduction showcasing the most interesting and fascinating facts in terms of geology and exploration for the Moon, Mars and Mercury. We focused also on the training undertaken by astronauts to be able to analyze, sample and report on a planetary surface, as an expert geologist would do, through the study of terrestrial analogs. Just like the astronauts, the students were then able to touch and try to recognize which (analog) rocks might be found on Mars, Mercury or the Moon. To conclude our activity, we accompanied the students on a virtual walk on the river delta deposits within the Jezero crater (Mars), the lacustrine deposits within the Crommelin crater (Mars), the central peak of the Copernicus crater, and the site of the Extravehicular Activity 3 held during the Apollo 17 mission. Simultaneously to the VR experience, we organized a parallel session of planetary mapping dedicated, in case of necessity, to students with cognitive or learning disorders, or unable to use the VR.

Overall, the planetary geology activities offered during Science4All proved to be highly effective in engaging participants in scientific exploration. The activities were well-suited to the audience's age and level of knowledge, ensuring that even fundamental concepts in astronomy and geology were effectively communicated and the use of various didactic tools (e.g., images, presentations, rocks, virtual environments) received positive feedback for their intuitive nature and comprehensive coverage of the subject matter.

Acknowledgements: We acknowledge funding and support from the Società Italiana Scienze Planetarie – Angioletta Coradini (SISP-AC) and from the Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività per lo Spazio «Giuseppe Colombo» (CISAS) of the University of Padua.