HUNTSVILLE, Ala.-Ten-year-olds, Ava Atwood and Skylar McCann heartily agree that their weeklong Space Camp experience at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala. was out of this world in more ways that one. The Dayton fifth graders say the experience was more than they ever hoped for or imagined.

The girls spent the week training with Team Aries, a group of 16 students. They flew a simulated space mission to the International Space Station (ISS), participated in experiments, listened to presentations and successfully an extra-vehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalk. Skylar and Ava returned to earth with their crew in time to graduate with honors.

Ava, daughter of Jessica and Cory Atwood of Huntsville, says she has loved space and wanted to be an astronaut as long as she can remember.

"A lot of people ask me why. What goes through my mind is that I like to fly, I like to be up in the air, and I like the planets and stars," Ava said.

"When I started learning about space, I started falling in love with it, and then I wanted to be an astronaut," said Skylar, daughter of DeAnn and Shawn McCann, of Dayton.

The Atwood family took advantage of the opportunity and the camp experience into a family vacation. After dropping Ava off at camp, the rest of the family visited New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville. They attempted to include Ava in a trip to the Grand Ole Opry after picking her up from camp, but she was so exhausted she fell asleep partway through, Cory said.

Skylar made the trip as an unaccompanied minor and was attended by a flight attendant. She said her travels went smoothly and she wasn't scared or worried. Good attributes in a future astronaut.

While at camp, the girls built and shot rockets and made and tested landed probes and parachutes.

Ava said her parachute was a "successful failure" meaning the basket tipped and the marble "occupant" rolled out safely. A "success" would have been a landing with the marble remaining in the basket.

The girls agreed that the simulators were the best part of camp and said they were surprised at how many there were. Some favorites were the Multi Axis Trainer (MAT) which simulates spinning in space, the gravity chair and the G-force simulator.

Ava and Skylar said they were inspired by a presentation by former NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence who was the first female graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy to fly into space and who visited the Russian Space Station Mir. She was also a mission specialist on the first space shuttle flight following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

Skylar said she enjoyed hearing about the education and career path Lawrence took on her journey to becoming an astronaut. Skylar said she hopes to attend college to study engineering or astronomy before joining the Air Force on her way to becoming an astronaut.

"Failure is a good thing because it teaches you a lesson," said Ava, when asked what she took away from the presentation.

Skylar and Ava said their favorite part of camp was completing the final mission. The girls hung from straps attached to the ceiling and were assigned with repairing a "space shuttle" by spraying foam on or replacing damaged tiles. To make the experience even more realistic, trainers would pull away cans and tools to simulate them floating in space.

Both girls share a desire to someday set foot on Mars, something they both believe is possible in their lifetimes. The girls agree that the space camp experience has increased their desire to learn even more about space and they intend to apply themselves to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) courses throughout school.

Both girls hope to return to space camp to attend more advanced camps in the future and encourage fellow students who are interested to attend.

"It's a lot more fun that you expect it to be," Skylar said.

"Serious – but also fun," Ava added.