NASA Space Camp Words by Narelle Mulrooney
After four years of planning and a few false starts, the Loreto College NASA Space Camp finally launched in early July this year. Twenty-one students and four staff members embarked on a journey of a lifetime, to the USA in the name of science - a trip designed to inspire and educate students that are interested in science and space.
I would recommend going on this trip because it really helped me understand
Following the bus accident enroute to the camp in 2022, it was important for some of us to be able to finally find closure on such a traumatic experience. After a gruelling 30 hours of international travel, we finally made it to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Space Camp), Huntsville, Alabama. The weather was hot and steamy with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius, combined with lightning and thunderstorms - very different conditions to what we had left back in Ballarat. The students immediately entered into the weeklong experience of the Advanced Space Academy®, a thrilling course based on NASA astronaut training, focusing on teamwork and leadership skills through an immersive experience in science, engineering, technology and maths. As staff members, we were amazed at the exciting activities that students were able to experience on a daily basis. Activities such as being spun around in a Multi-Axis trainer, experiencing neutral buoyancy by SCUBA diving, designing and launching a team rocket to safely recover it’s passenger (the egg - hopefully still intact),
scaling high walls and jumping off tall poles, flying jet simulators, and best of all, exploring space and Mars through mission simulations and immersive Planetarium sessions. The Mars missions were an absolute hit with the students. Operating in a massive, black shed with replica space buildings and equipment, the students were broken into teams which rotated for each mission. Some were responsible for running the mission from the control room - simulating being back at base. Another group were stationed inside the mock space station or shuttles and a few were responsible for completing the tasks while suspended in the air. Challenges were thrown at them constantly, forcing the teams to work together, remotely, in problem solving. It was very uplifting to see so many excited, smiling faces and watch the students immerse themselves in all the challenges. One student, Shae, reflected:
‘Something that will stay with me forever is definitely the memories of everyone working as a team and solving problems together.’
the real-world applications of things I’ve learned at school” Left - Loreto College students experience simulated space missions at the US Space & Rocket Centre (Space Camp). Right - students inside the mission control room.
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