Experience Science Up Close and Personal

Working with science in the classroom is one thing, but science in the field is something more. Experience science first had by becoming a member of the Teachers in Space Ground Crew. Working with the Perlan team, you will handle science payloads created by students from across the country.

The Ground Crew will work in shifts of four, spending two weeks learning and working on science in El Calafate, Argentina. Each day the glider flies, you and your fellow team members will prepare the experiments for flight, verify their operation and retrieve data for posting to the internet. Additionally your team will capture video and images to share with students around the world.

Educator Ground Crew Program – “It’s Like Gliding on Mars…”

The Perlan II glider is designed to fly up to altitudes of 90,000 feet by soaring on mountain vortices – strong currents of air formed along mountain ranges. At that height, the glider is flying in air as thin as the atmosphere of Mars: a perfect analog to experimental methods of exploring the red planet. On days when the Perlan II glider flies, the Ground Crew team will prepare, test, load, unload, and refresh the experimental payloads.