What should a real space camp be like?

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the first human flight into space. Gagarin said: "Let's go!" - and since then this phrase has almost always become the motto of the most striking and large-scale events associated with endless starry space.

In April 2016, the International Children's Center "Artek" hosted a thematic session "He said:" Let's go! 319 children from 25 regions of Russia got acquainted with the history of Russian cosmonautics and aviation, and also learned how to design and construct aircraft. The main partners of the shift were Roscosmos and Samara State Aerospace University.

Having learned in more detail about what happened these two weeks on the territory of the main camp of Russia, we summed up a peculiar result: 5 things that no self-respecting space camp can do without.

(Total 10 photos)

1. Exploring space

The starry sky is something that occupies the minds of not only inveterate romantics, but also many scientists around the world. No self-respecting space camp is complete without passing on as much knowledge about the Universe as possible to its wards. In Artek, representatives of Rokosmos oversaw several technical laboratories: Rocket Science, Fundamentals of Remote Sensing of the Earth, Aircraft Engineering, Space 3D Modeling, Do-It-Yourself Drone and others.

2. Meeting with astronauts

What is space without astronauts? During the thematic shift, Artek met with Vladimir Titov, Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Artemiev. Moreover, the future (possibly!) conquerors of the Universe became participants in direct communication with the International Space Station and were able to talk with astronauts who are on the ISS right now.

3. Creation of robots

With the support of SSAU scientists, the robotics laboratory “Stars will become closer” worked in the camp, where Artek students received theoretical knowledge on the basics of aircraft engineering and participated in modeling unmanned aerial vehicles and robotic systems. Most of the children have not been involved in robotics or other types of technical creativity before.

4. New discoveries

If a children's camp is created not for the purpose of "sunbathing, swimming and playing football", but puts education and self-development in the first place, then it simply cannot do without scientific discoveries. During the thematic shift in Artek, the guys proved that the age of genius is not a hindrance. Artem Makarenko put forward a new scientific hypothesis about the meteorite origin of the Ponoi depression and localized industrial diamond deposits on satellite images of the Popigai astroblem (Siberia).

The environmental project was prepared by Artek residents Mikhail Terekhin (Troitsk) and Semyon Pukin (Irkutsk). Based on the analysis of satellite images, the guys expressed their concern that the work of the Alushta landfill (solid household waste) threatens the environmental safety of the region. Artek workers have developed a number of proposals for the administration of the city of Alushta.

5. Protection of own projects

If it ever seemed to you that 14-year-old schoolchildren cannot solve serious adult problems, then you have obviously never heard of the thematic change of Roscosmos in Artek. Here, following the results of the shift, each participant defends an individual project. It is also not forbidden to conduct research in groups. Moreover, the topics of the projects could concern not only outer space. For example, one of the participants recreated the movement of the 35th battery during the war using space and aerial photographs. I compared aerial photographs of the Luftwaffe and modern ones - I found a lot of interesting things there about the history of the unit. The guy, by the way, is going to enter the Military Space Academy. Mozhaisky.