Mother/daughter duo enjoy space camp together

Mother and daughter Perri and Eleanor Weber, 7, of Jasper attended a weekend Family Space Camp program on July 10 and 11 at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Eleanor had been looking forward to attending the camp ever since her older brother, Elias, and her father, James, went in 2019.

“This was our first mother-daughter weekend with just the two of us, and we had so much fun learning about space and each other,” Perri said.

During the camp, the pair took part in simulated mission training and operations, constructed rockets and explored the history of the space program while experiencing one of the world’s largest spacecraft collections.

They also had the opportunity to train like astronauts on the Multi-Axis Trainer and conduct virtual underwater training.

Eleanor enjoyed learning about how astronauts live on the International Space Station, including what they eat, how they sleep, and how they use the restroom. 

In addition to learning about NASA’s plans to send astronauts to Mars in the next several decades, they also learned about the Artemis program.

“We were excited to learn about NASA‘s Artemis program which will put the first woman and first person of color on the moon in 2023,” Perri said.

Eleanor will be attending second grade at Ireland Elementary School and shared that her favorite part of the weekend was learning about our solar system, galaxy, and the universe in an interactive presentation at the facility’s 360-degree planetarium theater.

According to Perri, although Eleanor really enjoyed the weekend, at this time she has no plans for becoming an astronaut as she would like to be a horseback rider when she grows up.