What does it take to train for a mission to space? Students from all over the world are getting a chance to see what it's like to be an astronaut through Space Center University.
"Space Center University is an immersive five day engineering design program for middle school, high school, and college students, and even educators," said Kaci Heins, education manager at Space Center Houston. "We really want to immerse students in what NASA is currently doing."
During their time at Space Center University, students go behind the scenes at NASA's Johnson Space Center. They tour the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, where astronauts train in a pool as big as a football field to simulate zero gravity. Students also participate in their own scuba diving challenge, performing a simulated spacewalk underwater.
"They learn the basics of scuba diving," said Heins. "It's really cool because all of the dive instructors actually helped train the astronauts."
Students also design mini-Mars habitats, build and launch their own rockets and create capsules to protect their "eggstronauts" (mock astronauts, which are actually eggs) during a thermal heat test. Students also get the opportunity to meet with an astronaut.
Check out the above video to see what a week at Space Center University is like!
For more information on Space Center University, click here.
THE RIGHT STUFF: How kids can train like an astronaut!
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