RMIT Space Camp

Across the last week of Term 3, I and 31 other selected high school students, most of them from Uni High, attended a week-long Space Camp at RMIT. From Day One we were randomly assigned into groups of 4 or 5 and we would do all of our tasks together as a group. The team with the most points by the end of the week would win. Every day from 9-4, we worked hard and learned everything about space. This camp was run by One Giant Leap Australia and was conducted with an online program. After a few tech issues, we were off. 

The program consisted of different simulations and tasks, including a planet designer, space station designer, orbital mechanics, spaceship landing, habitat builder, and finally surface operations simulator. All of these activities built on and extended one another. For example, we would orbit around a planet with a spaceship, land that craft, build a habitat we landed on, and walk on the planet using our habitat, and each of these tasks would earn our team points. Before starting one of the simulations, we would have a lesson about it. For instance, before building a spacecraft, we would learn about different rocket engines or about the history of spacecraft. What was crazy was that we actually got to talk to people who worked in that field. From those working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab to astronauts who have been to space and even the RMIT rocket building team. After a full week of learning, we got to our graduation day. As a group, we would design a mission patch, come up with a name and write a speech. After all the groups presented, we got handed a certificate and shirt and took a huge group photo. Along with the learning, I made many new friends, some from Uni High, some not. Learning many things about space and having conversations with like-minded people helped me open my eyes to what the future holds.

Tristan West - Year 7