Training Grounds for potential astronauts for future Mars — NASA space camps

Recent evidence, at least, would seem to suggest that space camp – that all-American rite of passage for generations of young math wizards, #science geeks and wannabe astronauts – ought to have disappeared into a black hole by now. But the lucky kids would go beyond learning about rockets since some of them would have an opportunity to join space missions, including to Mars, reports Jagran.

Despite what many industry analysts and even former astronauts acknowledge is now a low point in America’s storied space history, Nasa has big plans for the future.

According to The Guardian, the NASA space camp in Kennedy Space Centre (KSC) in Florida and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama is expected to draw in hundreds of American kids who are looking forward to experience how life in space is like. They will be educated on the qualifications of becoming an astronaut as well as the various activities that spacemen are involved, such as planning and executing a space mission.

The space agency will be using the space camps so as to provide participating children actual hands-on experience in making as well as launching rocket models made of PVC pipes and paper tubes, while learning to understand the concept of gravity with a microgravity simulator.

“Each activity is planned to bring out team-building and problem-solving skills among children”, NASA said.

Kerri Lubeski, chief educator of Camp KSC, said that the young children believe that they can be future astronauts. The activities will lead to their desires of exploring the space eventually.

Lubeski said that the enthusiasm of the children towards the program is surprising noting that the previous class had 170 participants between 7 and 16 years old. The plan is to have a manned mission to Mars in the 2030s. This will be the first unmanned test flight to be set for no later than November 2018. An excited Colin Cox at age 11 said that he would like to be a computer engineer to help launch rockets into deeper space.

Although there is a long way to go before some of the kids actually get to work in space, NASA will be available when the best candidates are ready.