Yuris Night

USE THE EXCITEMENT AND INSPIRATION OF SPACE AS A CATALYST FOR EDUCATING AND DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS.

SPACEKIND LEADERSHIP TRAINING TRAINED APPROXIMATELY 100 PEOPLE THROUGH THREE 8-WEEK ONLINE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS. THE PARTICIPANTS WORKED IN PAIRS, SMALL GROUPS, AND TEAMS TO CLEARLY ARTICULATE THEIR AMBITIONS AND GOALS, ASSESS THEIR EXISTING HABITS, INSTITUTE A PLAN FOR REACHING THEIR GOALS, AND CREATING A SUPPORT STRUCTURE TO ENABLE THEIR LONG-TERM SUCCESS. SOME OF THE WORKSHOPS WERE OFFERED AS BEGINNER AND SOME AS ADVANCED SESSIONS FOR RETURNING STUDENTS. COURSE PARTICIPANTS CAME FROM MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AROUND THE GLOBE AND DEVELOPED A SPACEKIND NETWORK FOR SUPPORT AND PROJECT TEAMING. SEVERAL PARTICIPANTS BEGAN NEW PROJECTS AS A RESULT OF THEIR COURSEWORK.

MISSION: ASTROACCESS: ASTROACCESS IS A PROJECT DEDICATED TO ADVANCING DISABILITY INCLUSION IN SPACE EXPLORATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANKIND. THE FIRST MISSION SUCCESSFULLY FLEW 12 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ON A PARABOLIC FLIGHT FROM THE LONG BEACH AIRPORT ON OCTOBER 17, 2021 WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF FLYING ONE OR MORE TEAM MEMBERS TO SPACE IN THE COMING YEARS. THE AMBASSADORS AND SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS TOURED LOCAL AEROSPACE COMPANIES INCLUDING SPACEX, VIRGIN ORBIT, AND RELATIVITY SPACE. THE VISITS HELPED TO FURTHER THE EXCITEMENT FOR STEM IN THE AMBASSADORS AND EXPOSE THE AEROSPACE COMPANIES TO ACCESSIBILITY OPPORTUNITIES THEY HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED. AMBASSADORS WERE FEATURED IN MEDIA, SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES, PODCASTS, AND RESEARCH PAPERS. COLLABORATORS INCLUDED SCIACCESS, INC., AN INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFIT DEDICATED TO ADVANCING DISABILITY INCLUSION IN STEM. A SECOND FLIGHT IS PLANNED FOR 2022.

COSMIC ODYSSEY SCHOLARSHIP: IN THIS INITIAL YEAR, THE SCHOLARSHIP WAS ANNOUNCED IN APRIL DURING THE GLOBAL WEBCAST. FUNDS WERE RAISED TO SPONSOR 25 PEOPLE IN SEVEN FAMILIES AFFECTED BY PEDIATRIC CANCER TO ATTEND CUSTOM-MADE FAMILY SPACE CAMP WEEKENDS. THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH THE US SPACE AND ROCKET CENTER, WE CREATED CUSTOM ITINERARIES BASED ON CAMPS THAT HAD BEEN CLOSED TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. FOUR FAMILIES WERE SPONSORED THE WEEKEND IN JUNE AND THREE THE SECOND WEEKEND IN AUGUST. THE SCHOLARSHIP WAS CONCEIVED BY SPACEKIND TRAINING GRADUATE AND CHILDHOOD CANCER SURVIVOR NIKO BLANKS BASED ON HIS OWN EXPERIENCE BEING INSPIRED TO CONTINUE PURSUING AN AEROSPACE CAREER AFTER ATTENDING SPACE CAMP.

YURI'S NIGHT: THE GLOBAL WEBCAST WAS A 4-HOUR LIVE ONLINE EVENT FEATURING A VARIETY OF LIVE AND PRE-RECORDED SEGMENTS. WE CREATED A VIRTUAL WORLD ENVIRONMENT TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION DURING AND AFTER THE EVENT. NEARLY 300 TICKETS WERE SOLD TO THE SHOW IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS SPONSORS, GUESTS, AND VOLUNTEERS. THE BAND OK GO RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF YURI'S NIGHT AWARD FOR THEIR EDUCATIONAL WORK ALONGSIDE THEIR MUSIC VIDEOS--INCLUDING ONE FILMED DURING PARABOLIC FLIGHT! PHYSICIST AND ROCK LEGEND BRIAN MAY SENT IN A VIDEO TO INTRODUCE THE EVENT. GUESTS INCLUDED SIR RICHARD BRANSON, NASA ASTRONAUT LELAND MELVIN, SECOND-GENERATION ASTRONAUT RICHARD GARRIOTT, ESA ASTRONAUT LUCA PARMITANO, AND MORE! CONVERSATIONS IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED FOR 10+ HOURS WITH PEOPLE CONNECTING TO SHARE THEIR PASSIONS. THE EVENT ALSO LED INTO AN ONLINE AUCTION TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE COSMIC ODYSSEY SCHOLARSHIP.