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Last summer, I had an incredible opportunity to join the YF Life Junior Space Camp Programme. I was selected as one of the eight finalists from over 2,000 candidates after three rounds of interviews. The award was to join the camp in the US with full sponsorship by YF Life.
My journey began with a curiosity ignited by watching the movie The Martian. The film showcased an astronaut’s ingenuity, particularly how he grew potatoes to survive on Mars after being left behind by his crewmates. Inspired by this, I created a poster presentation about my space adventure to discover a habitable planet, which I submitted as my entry for the Space Camp Programme.
The nine-day space exploration journey commenced with a visit to the US Space and Rocket Centre in Alabama. Here, I participated in various astronaut training courses and practical simulations.
On the first day, I rode the 1/6th Moon Gravity Trainer, experiencing three ways of moonwalking – bunny hopping, astronaut jogging and crab sidewalk. It was thrilling to bounce around, especially when I took a huge leap while floating gently back down to the simulated moon’s surface.
The next event had me strapped into a multi-axis trainer, a chair assembly within three rotating rings that spun at 360 degrees.
On the second day, I underwent a space shuttle mission simulator.
The simulator made me feel like an astronaut because from launch to landing, each action replicated every detail of the authentic mission experience.
One of the most unforgettable activities was riding a g-force accelerator. This activity exposed me to three times the force of gravity that astronauts experience during a rocket launch.
