A push to encourage more young people into a career in STEM has landed young students a trip to NASA in the USA.
Haileybury’s Year 8 students were able to watch a rocket launch at the Kennedy Space Centre, get up close to the Space Shuttle Atlantis, speak to former astronauts, learn about science that helps launch rockets and keep the International Space Station afloat.
The two-week trip was designed to drive excitement and interests in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
“I learnt that sunsets on Mars are usually blue and when astronaut, Ed White, was making the United States’ first spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission, his spare thermal glove floated out of the capsule,” student Cooper said.
Jasmine, who studies science and mathematics, says the trip has “sparked” her interest in aerospace engineering.
“I am very interested in the engineering and work to build rockets, send them into space and then return them to Earth. I’m also interested in how robotics play a part in space missions and exploration.
“The work behind the scenes in developing new technologies for space exploration is fascinating and I’m interested in contributing to missions that expand our understanding of the universe.”
During the trip, students visited NASA’s space centres in Houston, Texas where astronauts train, and Orlando, Florida where NASA rocket launches take place.
Students toured the facilities where astronauts train and work, learned about robotics and coding, discovered how space missions are carefully planned and got some hands-on experience of what it takes to build a ‘home’ in space.
Haileybury Head of Science (Middle School) at the Keysborough campus Mark Doyle said the trip was packed with “hands-on activities” allowing students opportunities to explore future careers within different STEM fields.
“The time at NASA allows students to learn more about space and to understand that there are some areas of science that we don’t fully understand yet.
“They learned about rocket and space habitat design and space exploration, heard from astronauts and space engineers and then watched a live rocket launch — a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Logan’s “most memorable moment” was watching the SpaceX rocket launch.
“The trip to NASA was an amazing opportunity and has opened so many possible career pathways for me — from studying space and its impact on the human body to working on spaceships. I realised how everything has to come together in a very complex way to launch someone into space.”
During the trip to the USA, students also took part in a workshop at Universal Studios that looked at the engineering and design of theme park rides, kayaked for bioluminescent algae and took an airboat ride to look for alligators.
