now having logged 179 hours... advik: meet the astronaut, jack fischer. well, hello to all my friends in core 16. joyce and cady, and the whole team that put spheres together. what a great program. and it's here, and you're in the finals. all of you are champions. you've gotten this far, and let this only be the first step. don't let this be the end. let this be the start of a journey, a lifelong journey of learning, where you grow and contribute to society. i think given what you've done so far, the future is bright for what you can accomplish. so, with that, good luck to all of the contestants, and let the games begin. (cheers and applause) cady: you too, fisch. that was an awesome, awesome intro, and we are ready for you to start.

alvar: and we are ready for the first match. man: west virginia versus massachusetts. alvar: west virginia in the blue satellite versus massachusetts in the orange satellite. he just holding $200,000 robots. if you're on team massachusetts, let's hear it. (cheers and applause) -okay, here we go. -here we go. -local pride. - yeah, we can see that. massachusetts, it's definitely getting nearby. man: one of the spheres is right on top of the assembly zone, blocking it, making sure... - for blue, we have 2-2-1. -(applause) tanner: honestly, at the end of it, turning that code in was a result a lot of hard work, a lot of frustration. even though our team placed fourth place in california, um, they were happy with what they submitted. and we have a lot to learn about coding. there's other teams... grandfather: you just have to be dedicated to this work, and i know you can do it, and so, when you go home and lie down,

and think, "this is what i accomplished today," hey! that's pretty good. yeah! yeah. it's because of my grandfather that i have opportunities, so... i think that's the best way to pay respect is to educate these kids. you know, give 'em a shot. this was our first year ever doing something like this. and i'm really proud to be part of that first year. man: california wins. student: we worked so hard on this one code, and to see it in space... i think it's once in a lifetime. man: moving slowly towards the blue assembly zone and defending their zone pretty well right now. fischer: blue's trying to steal the large item. oh, looks like blue picked it up. (students cheering) blue won the game of chicken. judge: looks like california has a pretty big advantage, 'cause that is the end of the game.

alvar: blue, 2-3-4. orange, 1-5. - we copy that, sir. -(cheering and applause) -good job, cali. -well, we won! ♪ celebrate good times, come on! ♪ we can see space. it's like 200 miles away, so... alvar: two versus 8-3. advik: i learned a lot about coding, and we had a lot of fun together. we went through rough times, good times, and finally we did it, we're here. we made a team together. we worked hard until the very end and didn't give up. man: looks like oregon is flying across the mount... they're trying to steal. and here we are. we got so much more. -and that ends up here. -that's what we did last time. well, we could take... that won't stop here. -fischer: 1-7-4, -avar: 2-2-6.

advik: no. keep going. -onwards and upwards. -(laughter) -to infinity and beyond. to infinity and beyond. yes, exactly. and to pursue my dream to go into space. -everyone won one match. -oh, yeah. that's why we're probably the closest. so it like all comes down to us versus idaho. right now, if idaho beats us, they're gonna go the finals. if we beat them, it's gonna be based on points. it's really suspenseful. the suspense is real. hashtag, the suspense. tanner: we'll have to see how it plays out. nothing like a little bit of anxiety, right? a little-- a little-- - i feel like i need to play like suspenseful music right now. advik: so there's like 100% fuel, right? that's different from the co2 tanks. carol: to reach my goal for robotics would be focusing on my career and just making sure that i'm happy doing it.

all: to infinity and beyond! i'd like to contribute something that has to do with going to a different planet, 'cause then it can help other people explore, 'cause we don't know what's out there. alvar: this should be a very important match between idaho and california. (applause) man: california in orange. -here we go. -boy: we're orange. both spheres trying to drop their spses. man 2: looks like orange is at a bit of a disadvantage being farther away from their assembly. alvar: and actually between idaho and california, who wins this one is likely the winner

for conference b. man: so it looks like the orange sphere, california, successfully dropping off... fischer: all right, both have dropped off their large item. - they both have .2. -yes! orange dropped an item. orange is making a beeline to steal the large item. man: we have california attempting to steal. let's see if they'll be able to do it. that steal will do it. fischer: blue's making a beeline to the tail. man: both spheres now attempting to steal the other one's item. fischer: all right, blue stole the large item from orange. blue-- blue recovered first. get that large item. fischer: looks like orange stole the large item from blue. man: blue spheres heading back toward their zones with the other one's objects. alvar: both of them stealing each other's items. that's really amazing for the final round. man: idaho spinning around, heading towards california's assembly zone. california seems to be hovering around their base, which is a good defense.

fischer: and we get the large item back, idaho blue got 2-3-3, and orange 1-7-4. man: and that is the end of the match. -aww! -1-7-4. alvar: 2-3-3 versus 1-7-4. (cheering and applause) woman: okay, so idaho won. (applause) hey, guys, you know what? amazing work. alvar: so all of you did an amazing job. the winners today, the champions today, are the people who got out to space, which is all of you guys. so stand up, give a big, big clap. congratulations, everybody. congratulations!

(cheering and applause) -thank you. -congratulations. -thank you. -very good. carol: seeing all our hard work finally paying off, it makes me feel proud of myself with how far i've come and my journey of my life so far. advik: i think if you reach the destination, it's not the end. you can keep going. people are explorers. -all right. -it's so good. they want to expand. it's like ships that can cross the seas. rocket ships that can cross the galaxies.

carol: whenever people say the sky's the limit, i just think that they're wrong, 'cause there's much more ahead of them. (cheering and applause) man: absolutely breathtaking! woman: hey, did you see the corona? man: and we are in total solar eclipse. it's my first time seeing it. makayla: teamwork causes all these colossal things just like the first people on the moon. they were a team. they worked together. to do that, it's just... it's amazing. tanner: they continue to inspire me. and that's where the-- that's where the rewards are. that's what makes it all worth it. and space being the vehicle for the kids to dream...

i'm all for it. (chatter over radio) woman: 2.6 kilometers from the surface of mars. we have confirmation that the back shell has separated. ♪ with golden string ♪ ♪ our universe was clothed in light ♪ ♪ pulling at the seams

♪ our once barren world now brims with life ♪ ♪ and may you fall in love ♪ every time we open up ♪ our eyes woman: touchdown confirmed for today... ♪ i guess space and time ♪ ♪ takes violent things, angry things ♪ ♪ and makes them kind ♪ we are the dust of dust ♪ we are the apple of god's eye ♪ ♪ we are infinite

♪ as the universe we hold inside ♪ ♪ infinity times infinity ♪ infinity times infinity times infinity ♪ ♪ infinity times infinity times infinity times infinity ♪ ♪ let there be light, let there be light ♪ ♪ let me be right ♪ ♪ the dust of dust ♪ we are the apple of god's eye ♪ ♪ we are infinite

♪ as the universe we hold inside ♪ ♪ we are the dust of dust ♪ ♪ we are the apple of god's eye ♪ ♪ we are infinite ♪ as the universe we hold inside ♪ ♪ (vocalizing)

♪ let there be light, let there be light ♪ ♪ let me be right ♪ ♪ (vocalizing) ♪ every time we open up our eyes ♪