Whitefish River First Nation student takes part in simulated U.S. astronaut training
Grade 12 student at St. Charles College in Sudbury says she has always been intrigued by science
Whitefish River First Nation's Sara Gardner has just returned from a trip that has her feeling over the moon.
The 18-year-old took part in simulated astronaut training at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center Camp in Alabama, as part of a program offered exclusively to children of full-time Honeywell employees around the world. She said she qualified for the program after writing three different science essays.
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She wound up being one of about 200 students to take part in the program.
Gardner, a Grade 12 student at St. Charles College in Sudbury, Ont., says she has always been intrigued by science, and the camp piqued her interest.
"It was important to be able to experience what it was like to work as a team in a science-based environment," Gardner said. "And to be put under pressure — and to deal with that. It was pretty realistic astronaut training."
Gardner said the program included 45 hours of classroom, laboratory and field training.
"We built model rockets, we built heat shields — like to go on the outside of rockets — and aviation training," Gardner said.
"So basically we flew flight simulators and a big, realistic shuttle mission."
Gardner said she plans to study forensic science in the fall at Laurentian University.