Noah Plaza of Fayetteville recently attended Space Camp at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, home of Space Camp and NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center. The weeklong educational program promotes science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while training students and adults with hands-on activities and missions based on team work, leadership and decision-making.
He was part of the Space Academy Program which is specifically designed for trainees who have a particular interest in science and aerospace.
He spent the week training with a team that flew a simulated Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or space walk. NOAH and crew returned to earth in time to hear retired Space Shuttle astronaut Col. Bob Springer speak at their graduation.
Space Camp crew trainers who lead each 16-member team must have at least a year of college, and the majority of staff are college graduates. The campoperates year-round in Huntsville, Ala., and uses astronaut training techniques to engage trainees in real-world applications of STEM subjects. Students sleep in quarters designed to resemble the ISS and train in simulators like those used by NASA. Interested in training like an astronaut? Visit www.spacecamp.com or call 1-800-63 SPACE.
