The simulated missions are arranged through Space Explorers, an education and outreach program based in Wisconsin. There, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration controller speaks to the Immaculate Conception students over a speakerphone. The 34 seventh-graders stare intently at their computers. We will launch from Cape Canaveral and go out to the moon. We are currently at T minus five and holding.
All positions please stand by to give status report when called.
All spacecraft systems are operating nominally. All systems go for launch. After activating flight recorders, switching the launch vehicle to its on-board batteries and other routine checks, the Lunar Prospector has liftoff. The students' eyes dart from the rocket blinking across their screen to the data just below. Dan Uhrhan, the mission director, must make a decision.