Troop 480 spent a day visiting the Challenger Learning Center in Wheeling, WV on Saturday, February 9th. Members spent two hours participating in a simulated mission to Mars as astronauts of mission control specialists.

After arriving at the Learning Center, the scouts were partnered up and assigned to one of eight teams: Communications, Data, Isolation, Life Support, Medical, Navigation, Probe, and Remote.

One scout on each team is assigned to Mission Control, while the other team member is transported to the space station (at mission midpoint, the partners exchange places so every scout can experience both learning environments).

During the mission, scouts needed to accomplish specific tasks in order for the mission to be a success. Astronauts on board the space station build space probes, monitor life support functions, conduct experiments on items taken from the surfaces of Mars or the Moon, and plot navigation courses for the spacecraft. Engineers at Mission Control support these endeavors by answering the astronauts’ questions and providing necessary research.

Following their visit at the Challenger Learning Center, our Troop 480 Scouts and adults visited the Wheeling Cabella's store where they had lunch before proceeding home.