This year, we invite you to celebrate our friends in flight with hands-on aircraft activities. From stomp rockets to ring-wing gliders, explore how engineering has propelled humanity from the skies to the stars! These activities are designed by NASA and other aerospace industry leaders, and each can be enjoyed at home with your favorite crew members – no wings required.

NASA make a paper airplane activity 

NASA ring-wing glider activity 

Making Paper Airplanes 

Exploring the Solar System: Stomp Rockets 

Looking to learn more about aviation and aerospace? On your way to Space Center Houston, visit our neighbors at the Lone Star Flight Museum!  

The post Get Ready to Take Flight on National Paper Airplane Day! appeared first on Space Center Houston.

Space Center Houston’s Human Performance Accelerator Lab (HPALab) program is offering an exclusive one-day summer training session open to families and members to train like NASA Artemis astronauts.

HPALab’s program To the Moon and Back aims to build up participants’ skills in communication, leadership, teamwork and dedication; all of which are skills needed to succeed in space missions, plus access to Johnson Space Center facilities.

NASA’s Artemis astronauts under the Artemis Program are currently training for the second phase of its mission – going back to the Moon. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test mission to pave the way to land the first woman and next man on the Moon for phase III of Artemis.

On June 14 participants can experience simulated training activities like the Artemis Crew:

• Simulated Spacewalk Experience – Learn how to build an airlock, perform underwater maneuvers, handle underwater rovers, and use scuba gear in a historic pool.
• Aerospace Innovation– Test your ingenuity as your family problem-solves for protecting astronauts from the hazards of space.
• Dinner With an Astronaut– Enjoy an elevated dinner with a NASA astronaut to celebrate the day’s achievements together.

This exclusive opportunity is available for $449.99 per person ($100 discount for Space Center Houston Members) with limited registration.

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity, register today at https://spacecenter.org/education-programs/human-performance-accelerator-lab/. Availability is capped at 40 slots.

The post Train Like an Astronaut with Space Center Houston’s “To the Moon and Back” Summer Family Accelerator appeared first on Space Center Houston.

Freshman Baylee Barnwell from Clear Creek High School was the final design selection for the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 7 Patch Challenge, a competition for the design emblem worn by NASA support staff and crewmembers simulating living and working on Mars.

Each HERA campaign consists of four rotating volunteer crewmembers simulating long-duration spaceflight missions on a Mars habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The 45-day missions in the ground-based habitat study the confined living environments of crewmembers and identify risk categories on how individuals and teams perform, interact, and maintain health during extended periods of isolation in a small volume with little privacy and variable workloads.

Barnwell’s design patch encapsulated the campaign’s mission aims of crew autonomy, behavioral health, teamwork and multicultural factors. As the winner of the HERA Patch Challenge for Campaign 7, Barnwell enjoyed a private tour of the HERA facility with her family and where her patch is currently displayed.

The post NASA HERA Patch Challenge Winners appeared first on Space Center Houston.

Love all things cosmic and stellar? Download and share these space-inspired Valentine’s Day cards with the crew you cherish the most! Choose from four different designs to print out and give to your favorite space explorer. Each card features imagery and facts inspired by the past, present, and future of space exploration.

At-home printing recommendations

We recommend printing these PDF files on 8.5×11 paper. For best results, center them vertically and horizontally and flip on the long side.

The post Valentine’s Day Cards for Starry-Eyed Lovers appeared first on Space Center Houston.