Ten High School ‘STARS’ Complete Workshop
A group of ten outstanding high school recently completed a four-day workshop that gave them a glimpse of what it is like to control a robot in space and walk and live on Mars.
The Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems completed its second-annual Stem Aerospace Research Scholars workshop on Saturday. Its focus is to give young women who study STEM (science, technology, mathematics) a glimpse into the aerospace industry through engaging, hands-on activities.
Activities began on June 24 with a trip to the Canada France Hawai’i observatory headquarters, where the students conducted a simulated robotic moon mission. Throughout the rest of the week, the participants conducted a mock space-mining mission at PISCES headquarters, gazed at the night sky at an area near Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea, and spent a night at the Mars simulator on Mauna Loa.
“You get to kind of experience hands-on, like, the industry of astronomy and aerospace and all that kind of stuff to see if it’s really something you’re interested in, and if you’re willing to pursue a career in it in the future,” West Hawai’i Explorations Academy student Ellie Furneisen said of the experience.