Advanced Space Academy

Hannah Mohr, 11th Grade

Have you ever wanted to take a trip to the ISS? Or maybe you want to be in Mission Control, making sure the mission goes according to plan and solving problems when it doesn't. Last summer, I attended Advanced Space Academy, a week-long space camp by Marshall Space Flight Center, where I got to do just that. True, it wasn't actually the ISS or Mission Control, but during the six-hour simulation, it certainly seemed like it.
I started the week by getting to know my teammates, who were all equally excited about space. Over the course of the week we listened to lectures about water purification systems, the Space Shuttle, launch fuel, life support systems, human health in space, DNA and genes, microgravity, and shuttle systems. We even got to hear Astronaut Robert Gibson talk about his time in space!
At camp I had four one-hour missions, during which I got to be the EVA (Mission Control person who communicates with astronauts during spacewalks), Flight Engineer (astronaut aboard the International Space Station), Mission Scientist (Mission Control person who communicates with the International Space Station), and Mission Specialist (astronaut who gets to go on spacewalks). Each mission was filled with anomalies; basically anything that could go wrong, did. After all four short missions were complete, we had a long six-hour mission; I was once again the Flight Engineer. For six hours my crew dealt any and every anomaly the staff could think of; “Houston, we have a problem” was the most cited quote of the day.
Another activity provided by Advanced Space Academy was the Engineering Challenge, which had three main parts. The first challenge was a heat shield. We had limited resources and budget to design a heat shield that would protect a raw egg from a blow torch for three minutes. We didn't know how the different resources would hold up, so we had to use all our knowledge and work as a team to come up with a feasible solution. The second challenge was simpler: use an assembly line to build a specified shape as efficiently as possible. The third challenge was the hardest of all: the Eggs-Prize. Each team had to build a rocket that would safely launch and land the payload—a raw egg. Since each team had to come up with the rocket design on its own, teamwork was essential. My team, Team Adventure, focused mainly on the safety of the “Eggstronaut,” and we succeeded at safely bringing him home. The icing on the cake was when, at graduation, Team Adventure was awarded first place in the Engineering Challenge.
Advanced Space Academy was tons of fun. I learned more about STEM subjects and met new people who shared my interests. The whole experience was amazing and solidified my desire pursue engineering. Thanks MSFC!!!