Aspiring astronauts aiming high
An all-girl group of aspiring astronauts proved they have the right stuff during a week of space training.
Students from Christchurch’s Selwyn House School embarked on the five-day Mission To Space programme at the International Antarctic Centre, building rockets and telescopes, and flying in fixedwing aircraft to learn about the theory of flight.
They also experienced underwater astronaut training, and rode the zip wires at Christchurch Adventure Park in their flight suits.
‘‘We have learned about rockets and heard from people who work at Rocket Lab and Nasa,’’ said student Madi Piper.
The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) initiative is run in partnership with Rocket Lab, with education lead Felicity Powell conducting sessions.
The 58 year 7 and 8 students studied the James Webb Telescope, the constellations and Ma¯ ori astronomy, and also learned about Nasa’s SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) programme, the largest airborne observatory in the world.
Miranda Satterthwaite, academy director at the International Antarctic Centre, said it was ‘‘pretty full-on’’ for the students.
The aim of the programme was to encourage young people to consider careers in the space industry, especially females, said Satterthwaite, who trained at a range of Nasa bases, including the Kennedy Space Centre.
‘‘There’s a shortage of women in the space sector, so we’re looking at addressing that through this programme.’’
Simon Christie, who teaches science and mechatronics at the independent Merivale school, said he signed up to the programme to ensure the students ‘‘understand, appreciate and have access to science and technology’’.