REPOST: Local teen attends space camp

In order to promote science, technology, engineering, and math, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville gave teens a shot at hands-on aerospace experience.  The Salisbury Post gives us the point of view of Stephan Mosher, one of the program participants.

A local student got to attend Space Camp this summer at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., home of NASA’s official Visitor Information Center for Marshall Space Flight Center.

Stephan Mosher, 14, the son of Jimm and Patrice Mosher, is a freshman at Jesse C. Carson High School in China Grove. He attended Southeast Middle School last year.

The week-long 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.

Stephan 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).

Image Source: www.spweb.sx2.atl.publicus.com

Once aboard the ISS, the crew participated in experiments and successfully completed an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or space walk. Stephan 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 67 percent of the 2011 staff are college graduates.

Space Camp operates year-round in Huntsville, Alabama, 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.

More than 600,000 trainees have graduated from Space Camp since its opening in Huntsville in 1982, including STS-131 astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger. Last year, children and teachers from all 50 states and 58 international locations attended Space Camp.

Founded on quality, integrity and dependability combined with the desire to help behaviorally challenged youth achieve personal and educational growth, Aspen Education Group has been providing programs that aid teens in combating behavioral issues.  Visit the group's official website for more details on its therapeutic programs.