And it was a blast.

What ’s the first thing you would say if you were the very first person to step on Mars ? I had mine figured out from the outset . And when I stepped onto the Red Planet , I get it out : “ receive to Mars . Let ’s colonise this bitch . ” I also quickly followed that up with a scuttlebutt to my crew . “ Sorry I killed all of you on the way here . ”

As I ’m sure you may have gauge , I wasn’tactuallyon Mars . I was the commander of a foreign mission to the fictional variation of the major planet as part of anadult Space Campday broadcast in Huntsville , Alabama . It had been a particularly wild adventure that 24-hour interval , with me jump off around on the moon ’s airfoil , nigh retch everywhere in the multi - axis trainer ( or as I call it , the gyro - chair ) , and then almost like a shot killing my total Mars crew once we got on our shuttlecock .

Oh , and the night before , I scratch my head word on a blank space capsule in the on - site beer garden , bled everywhere , and had to go to Sick Bay . Needless to say , I ’m an awful woof for commanding officer . And yes , you read that right : Space Camp has a German oompah bar beer garden . It ’s like heaven there , family . Here ’s why you should go to adult Space Camp and what missions to do while you ’re there .

Adult Space Camp

Space Camp

But first , get me explicate how I vote out everyone .

After getting elect as air force officer ( apparently I ’m an first-class leader ) , my crew and I stack into the shuttlecock for take - off . The trainers at Space Camp tell you in advance that it ’s a tough job , but seeing how I ’m such a team behemoth , I was sure I could handle it .

And then numbers game pass . You have to attend up numerical code and type them in on keypad , quickly , while paging through checklist and large script full of the codes . I also needed to , you know , flythe matter . So shortly after launch , I managed to accidentally use the codes to turn over the shuttle upside - down and hurtle us back to earth . It was a fiery explosion . There were no survivors . It ’s possible I killed everyone at the launching launchpad as well . Sorry guys — I was doing science .

astronaut training

I can totally do that.|Space Camp

Luckily my very forgiving crew gave me a second chance . This clip , we made it to Mars . I ’m pretty certain we had a heap of help from Mission Control , though . We landed the shuttlecock , walked out , and started a Mars Garden . And that ’s the tarradiddle of how a previously crashed birdie full of zombi spirit masquerade as astronauts colonize the Red Planet .

Do you want the prospect to like an expert crash a bird and obliterate your full crew , too ? Great tidings , you could DIY your space death on your own trip to adult Space Camp .

years 18 and up can do a weekend charge atAdult Space Academy . You experience in dorms on - site for the weekend and do all the training thing existent astronauts do — like build rockets , found them , crashing a birdie , repairing it , build a space place , and piloting your crew back to Earth to land in a blank space abridgement on the sea .

Huntsville, Alabama

Space Camp is in Huntsville, Alabama—where you will not be allowed to drive the rocket ship.|Space Camp

When you get in , you get one of the standard blue NASA jumpsuits ( you may commemorate them fromSpace refugee camp , the glorious 1986 flick where a group of kids accidentally launch themselves in real blank ) . You also get a pretty rad leather name tag that ’s affixed to your jumpsuit upside - down until you successfully complete training . Then , it ’s time for a walk on the moonlight .

The moon walkway is n’t technically a paseo — it ’s more a sit - down - and - jump situation . You ’re strapped into a 1/6th - graveness chair , which double the spirit of hopping around on the synodic month . You ’re also stroll along a replica of the moon ’s aerofoil , so if you block out everything else ( include the fact that you ’re not wear a spacesuit and would be super beat in space for real ) , you may truly imagine that you ’re there .

You do memorise two types of walking that cosmonaut actually use on the Sun Myung Moon : the bunny girl hop and the side dance step . And then you may freestyle your way along the control surface . If you ’re like me , you ’ll wing out into space and someone will need to reel you back in .

space camp

Spacecamp!|Space Camp

Next up is the gyro - chair — I mean , multi - axis trainer . This is a appliance that looks like a giant gyroscope . You sit in the middle of it , and the entire thing , your chair included , protrude spinning around and around and upside - down . It ’s opine to acclimatise you to what it feel like when you ’re spinning out of control in space . One of the cool things about these is that they ’re Space Camp - specific . NASA astronauts trained on them for the Mercury commission , and no other space gang has this precise setup . The spinning only occupy about a minute , just long enough for you to getjust aboutviolently ill if you ’re really sensitive to move sickness . Do n’t worry , though — most mass do fine , I ’m just kind of a delicate flower sometimes .

Your last Space Camp test is the mock mission to Mars . You ’ll be either Mission Control , monitoring the Mars flight from the control way ; a Mission Specialist , which means you get to put on a full spacesuit and pilot up into blank to repair your birdie ; or Orbiter Crew , where you go on the shuttle to get killed by me . You ’ll train for every position to see what fit unspoilt before the literal mission start .

If you have n’t been flying with me and you successfully return to Earth , you fine-tune from Space Camp . They do n’t play “ Pomp and Circumstance , ” but there is a observance where your name tag is flipped right - side - up , you get a diploma , and everyone cheers for you . And then you could go home and use to be a genuine astronaut , because now you ’re an expert . And hopefully not a zombie .

how to be an astronaut

No, no, you go next.|Space Camp