United Space School
Connor Cane One of Two Students to Represent the USA
Boca Raton, FL – FAU High School student Connor Cane is one of two students selected to represent the United States in an international two-week program to plan a mission to Mars with the help of NASA engineers and scientists. More than 25 different countries nominated students for the United Space School (USS) program, and only 50 students were accepted. This year students representing Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, Wales, and other countries will participate in the program July 21-August 5, 2019 in Houston, Texas.
Each year, the USS program brings together the brightest international students between the ages of 15-20 for a two-week summer academic and cultural program of space science, technology and exploration. Students are ambassadors of their nation, and upon graduation, join a global network of over 500 students spanning nearly twenty years of activity.
USS’s organization, schedule and curriculum are designed to provide the structure, knowledge, resources, mentoring and appropriate settings to complete the proposed project: a Manned Mission to Mars.
To enhance and build upon this instruction, the students participate in a variety of space-related activities at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL), Rice University, Space Center Houston, the George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. These activities include a tour of JSC facilities, A Full Crew Mission, a special project at the George Observatory, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) link with the International Space Station (ISS) and an international video conference on life sciences, bio-astronautics and aerospace medicine at a university. The United Space School aims to provide its students with a realistic perspective on the space industry while using an international, intercultural and interdisciplinary approach.
Houston, we have an opportunity: The United Space School
The United Space School is operated by the Foundation for International Space Education (FISE) and was created to foster international collaboration in space exploration initiatives. It’s made possible through affiliation with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) and University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).
The venue for United Space School is Bay Area Houston, Texas, home to NASA’s Manned Space Flight Center, the JSC, which houses the astronaut corps, human space flight training, Mission Control and the Shuttle and International Space Station Programs.
Students are expected to act as ambassadors for their home country, set a high standard of deportment and academic aptitude of aerospace and space through summative evaluations, and share their culture with those around them.
The participating countries and their respective schools are recommended by individuals associated with NASA JSC, as well as various international aerospace organizations.
Many countries invited to select students for Space School are current partners of the International Space Station, though in recent years emphasis has been given to include developing space and non-space faring nations. Each participating country selects its students through open competition providing equal opportunities regardless of race, creed or gender – a FISE guideline.
Connor Cane, a passion for science, technology, and space
Connor’s life-long interest in space science began as a young child during his countless trips to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia. Connor watched many of the final Space Shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and has participated in Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
In October 2012, when Connor was nine years old, he won an essay contest sponsored by the South Florida Science Center in West Palm Beach and conversed with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, who was passing overhead on the International Space Station. As Connor asked questions to the scientist hurtling overhead at more than 17,000 mph, Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter joined him in person.
Connor had the honor to also meet astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Steve Swanson (an FAU alumni) and Space Shuttle astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, to name a few. His career interests include biomolecular engineering and earth/space sciences.