Ayrshire College Foundation Newsletter Issue 2 | Page 2

MISSION
DISCOVERY
The space dust has now settled on Ayrshire’s first ever
Mission Discovery programme and what an event it was.
200 Ayrshire secondary school pupils and College students
came together for the week-long space school, where they
worked in teams to create space experiments.
At the end of the programme the teams had to present
their ideas to a panel of judges, and the prize on offer was
incredible: the winning experiment would be sent to the
International Space Station and tested by astronauts within the
next year.
The participants challenged themselves to think creatively
and work as part of a cohesive unit, under the guidance of the
International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET) Team
that included former NASA astronaut Michael Foale CBE.
It was fantastic to be able to welcome such an experienced
astronaut to Ayrshire. Michael is a recently retired veteran
of six Space Shuttle missions and extended missions on
both Mir and the International Space Station. He spoke to
the teams about his journeys into space, the importance of
communicating with every member of the team, and how to
deal with crisis situations. Michael also took part in a Q&A
session and showed video clips of his time in space.

NASA’s Assistant Chief of EVA,
Robotics & Crew Systems
Sarah Murray, another key
member of the ISSET Team,
spoke to the group about the
importance of teamwork and
making sure everyone has their
voice heard.
Before Dr Julie Keeble, ISSET’s
Chief Scientist, explained the
criteria for experiments at the
Space Station.
At this point the teams were
suitably inspired and full of
knowledge, and got to work on
their experiment ideas.
On judgement day, the 24 teams
were divided into rooms where
two judges would hear their
initial presentations. Once each
team had delivered their idea
within the 8 minute time limit,
judges had to deliberate over
which six teams would make it
into the final stage.