Amsterdam

Good flight, arrived safely at Amsterdam and awaiting connecting flight to Manchester.


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Airport

All safely through security at Houston airport.....fingers crossed flight is on time.


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Packed

We are all just about packed and ready to leave the hotel for the long journey home bringing fantastic memories with us.










WiFi permitting will keep you updated on the journey.

Space Centre University Graduation

The programme of events was concluded with a graduation ceremony.





















A special mention to Team Sojourner who came second overall...a good week's work, very well done girls or should I say 'future engineers'!

Brunch with an Astronaut

We were treated to an inspirational talk by astronaut Dr Donald A. Thomas who has been on 4 space shuttle missions.....his overriding message was 'never give up'. It took him 4 attempts to be accepted on the NASA astronaut training programme in order to follow his childhood dream. It was the highlight of a most incredible week here in Texas.














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Thermal Shield Test

First thing this morning the thermal shields were tested using a propane flame. The efficiency of the shield was measured by recording the temperature of an egg. There were some 'eggsplosions'!!






















An 'eggcellent' contest!

Scuba Diving

An action-packed day continued with a session of scuba diving. Astronauts are required to be competent at diving and regularly train in the pool.




























And after all that the girls still had the energy to spend, spend, spend at the outlet mall!!

Robotics Testing

In beautiful sunshine the groups tested their rover on Martian territory, their task was to collect as many rock samples as they could......from gullies, craters and even volcanoes. Along with the engineering design of the rover, the skill of the operator was also important. The most any group collected was 3 rock samples, results are to be announced tomorrow.

Neutral Buoyancy Lab

We have had a very exciting morning visiting the Neutral Buoyancy Lab where astronauts can experience the effects of weightlessness. It is a huge pool 40 feet deep with space station replicas on the floor. We were extremely fortunate to be there as 2 astronauts (Alexander Gerst and Jeanette Epps) were putting on space suits and being lowered into the water. Look them up as they are both assigned to space missions in the near future!

















Absolutely out of this world experience! Now looking forward to scuba diving.







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Kemah Boardwalk

This evening was spent at Kemah Boardwalk followed by entertainment and meal at Bubba Gump. Lots of fun was had by all.















































It's exhausting thinking about all we have done today........time for bed!








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