In front of three NASA astronauts, with scientific and engineering experts from Honeywell, a team of three students from Coyote Hills Elementary School defended their Lunar Station project with oral presentations and an intense question and answer session. They won the trip of a lifetime when they were declared the First Place winners in the 2010 Honeywell Fiesta Bowl Aerospace Challenge held at the Challenger Space Center in Peoria on December 30th.
The competition is designed to enhance students’ knowledge of space and science technology through the development of an International Lunar Base. The primary mission of the Lunar Base is to provide a launch site and structure for a future mission to Mars. The team, Annie Hurley, seventh grade, Katie Hurley, fifth grade, and Allyson McClellan, seventh grade, along with their teacher and coach Deb Jones, will receive a V.I.P. trip to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas where they will experience a behind-the-scenes look at a NASA launch facility. In addition to these laurels, the team will be presented from the field to the world during the 40th Fiesta Bowl game in Glendale, Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium New Year’s day, as well as a simulated space flight mission for their classroom at the Challenger Space Center.
The Aerospace Challenge is a competition designed to enhance students’ knowledge of space exploration and technology. Each team will be responsible for creating a physical scale model and written report of an International Lunar Base that can accommodate a crew of up to 40 people for two years.
Deadline for the 2011 Aerospace Challenge is Friday, October 7, 2011. Visit www.aerospacechallenge.com for a team application and more information on this event.