Raanana students to visit NASA

Rona Ramon, wife of deceased astronaut Ilan Ramon, assists 21 outstanding Israeli high schoolers to visit Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. Eleventh grader Noa Raz says 'every time we go to the lab, we see Ilan and Asaf's pictures. We want to succeed and bring honor to our country too'

Tamar Trabelsi-Hadad|Published: 03.11.13 , 15:15

A delegation of Israeli high school students will visit Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center—the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) for the first time with the help of Rona Ramon, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.

The students in the Ilan and Asaf Ramon Space program at Metro West High School in Raanana will visit the center, meet with astronauts, tour the facilities and build a Mars-bound space shuttle model with the help of NASA scientists.

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The 21 honor students will fly to the United States on Thursday, after Rona Ramon connected the high school with NASA.

She also made the connection between the students and the Jewish host families there. The students will reside in the neighborhood in which the Ramon family lived and visit the synagogue that Ilan Ramon frequented.

The Metro West space students are studying 10 units of engineering and space sciences and in recent weeks have prepared for their visit with material they received from NASA.

The school's science and space coordinator, Karin Sokolov, said that the NASA visit is a rare opportunity for the students to experience theoretical studies in practice.

According to Sokolov, the curriculum includes joint work with the IAF's satellite and space unit. The high school's state-of-the-art lab is named after Ilan and Asaf Ramon and many of the students aim to walk in their shoes and become pilots and astronauts.

Eleventh grader Asaf Ashkenazi, studying in the school's program with his twin sister Keren said "We all want to be like Ilan Ramon. I am very excited for the Houston visit. This is a good opportunity to talk about our country and deal with public relations."

Noa Raz, an 11th grader added, "Every time we go to the lab, we see Ilan and Asaf's pictures. We want to succeed and bring honor to our country too."