Six-year-old Kelsey Robinson had a question. He wanted to know how someone could get to Mars.

His friend, who was about the same age, also had a question. He wanted to know if there might be life on Mars, just beneath the surface.

Normally, the boys? questions would leave their parents, frustrated and surfing the Internet for hours.

Thanks to the annual Jason Project, Kelsey and his friend recently put their questions to a real astrobiologist. Granted, the scientists had no easy answers. In fact, they have spent billions of dollars and years trying to answer exactly these simple questions.

reporter Jessie Moniz met Kelsey and his friend at a recent Jason Project live broadcast at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR) ? ?Jason Project ? The Mysteries of Earth and Mars?.

This year?s subject matter was inspired by NASA?s Spirit and Opportunity rover missions on Mars which are bringing back new information about the Red Planet every day.

The Jason Project was hosted by Dr. Bob Ballard who discovered the remains of the Titanic. It was broadcast from three locations, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Kilauea, Hawaii, Mono Lake, California and the Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also in California. (Sadly, but not surprisingly, there was nobody on Mars to answer questions.)

On this day, a small group of children was arranged in a line to await asking questions at a special Internet terminal and camera. They seemed undeterred that they were up against thousands of other children also asking questions from pin sites across the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Many of them came with questions in hand, as they had already been learning about Mars and the Solar System in class. At the beginning of the session, children with questions were arranged in seats in front of an Internet station off to the side of the room.

While they waited for their turn, one child turned to his friend and said, ?What was my question again??

His friend patiently reminded him.

?Oh, yeah,? the little boy said sheepishly.

Although there were a few homeschool students, most of the students watching this broadcast were from Warwick Academy and Victor Scott Primary on this day. The Jason Project is primarily aimed at Middle School children, although the younger children we talked to seemed to be getting just as much out of it.

?Just for them there is the excitement of seeing people like Bob Ballard outside out of the white coat lab and doing fun stuff in the field,? said BBSR education officer J.P. Skinner. ?This is interactive and they get to ask questions and answer questions.

?It gets them fired up. If the measure is the questions that they ask, then they are really thinking. We have been really impressed by how well prepared they have been.

?They have come in with some really good questions which means that we are put more on the spot than usual.?

Unfortunately, due to the sheer volume of questions, not all of them could be answered.

However, halfway through the broadcast one of Bermuda?s questions was answered.

Tianna from Bermuda?s face appeared on the screen asking, ?How big is Mars and how many layers of soil are there??

Gasps of excitement went through the room. The students were thrilled to see Bermuda on the screen, and later Tianna received a clap from everyone for asking such a good question.

The answer was that Mars has about 11 percent of Earth?s mass and its diameter is about half the size of the diameter of Earth. In terms of the number of layers of soil, scientists aren?t sure yet because they have only just begun to study Mars in great depth.

The Jason Project was the brainchild of Dr. Ballard. After he and his crew discovered the remains of the Titanic on the ocean floor, letters poured in from children asking questions and begging him to take them with him next time he went on an expedition. He did just that. Seventeen Jason Projects later, the programme is now closely affiliated with National Geographic and NASA.

Mr. Skinner said the Jason Project?s affiliation with NASA was particularly exciting.

?I know NASA is keen to use Jason as an outreach tool,? said Mr. Skinner. ?Certainly, with the success of the rovers, that has been a lot of good PR for NASA. I think people have been interested in that and the latest discoveries.?

Although some children had clever questions to ask Mr. Skinner and other local scientists who were at the BBSR, mostly they asked the same thing in different ways, ?is there any possibility that there was once life on Mars, and could there be life on Mars right now??

The answer from the scientists was again, we don?t know yet. However, there has been some scientific evidence that there might once have been water on Mars, which means that Mars may once have been able to support life.

More than 100 students watched the broadcast in the BBSR Hall, and there was no chatter or talking. All eyes were riveted on the screen. These kids were nothing if not enthusiastic. After the broadcast was over, the BBSR had set up a table with a number of different experiments. Unfortunately, the schools in attendance had not factored this into the equation and were in a hurry to get on the bus and go back to school.

Many of the students however, scientific interest newly kindled, had to be dragged away by their teachers. Two teenagers were so determined to watch the experiments they attempted to hide under the table.

One older boy solved the problem by going when his teacher called him, but walking backwards the whole way, very, very slowly, so that he could watch the experiments. His teacher was not amused.

The broadcasting was just one component of the programme. Information from the different broadcasts over the last couple of years is available online for teachers and students to access. Students can go on to the website in their own time and ask scientists questions. They can also use the website to apply for the position of argonaut, although competition is fierce.

?The broadcasting is one component of the bigger picture,? said Mr. Skinner. ?A lot of teachers will use Jason throughout the year. At the beginning of the school year we give out about 220 curriculum packs. There is a preliminary video, and a full range of science and math activities they can use in the classrooms.

?Some use it for after-school programmes. Some use it for the month to focus on Jason. It really gets the kids to use the science and math in the classroom. That is why there are so many good questions when I stand at the front, because they have done a lot of preparation.?

Mr. Skinner thanked Butterfield Bank and Cable & Wireless for their support of the programme. ?Despite the fact that the technology gets more sophisticated each year, you think it means the signal will come in just as easily each year, but we do require a lot of backup,? he said. ?It is a real team endeavour to bring it all together.?