Liz McInnes joins Harwood Park pupils on their journey to space

The VR Experience Tour bus

In June 2016, after six months orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station conducting experiments, walking in space and even running a marathon, Tim Peake returned to Earth in the Soyuz TMA-19M descent module.

Now, this historic spacecraft is inspiring a generation of people all over the country as Samsung and the Science Museum Group present The National Tour of Tim Peake’s Spacecraft.

As part of this exhibition, Samsung is working closely with the Science Museum Group to engage young people in STEM subjects as well as helping to facilitate learning through technology. This has been brought to life with Samsung’s ‘Space Descent with Tim Peake – The VR Experience Tour Bus’. 

Thanks to Heywood and Middleton MP, Liz McInnes, Thursday (4 October) marks the arrival of this immersive bus at Harwood Park Primary School, Rochdale.

This was awarded to the school following a competition at Samsung’s Space Descent VR Experience Tour drop-in, held in Parliament earlier this year. MPs were encouraged to post a photo online of themselves at the event for a chance to win for their local institution.

Having received the most comments on her photo, Ms McInnes will be joining the Harwood Park pupils on their epic ventures into space.

The bus experience is to include: 

• The chance for pupils to go through space training whilst completing certain mission training experiments
• A spacewalk using an interactive digital mirror
• Photo opportunities on the ISS with Earth in the background
• A viewing of the Space Descent VR; a virtual reality experience narrated by Tim Peake which puts pupils in the pilot’s seat of a Soyuz capsule. Using Samsung Gear VR, they experience what it feels like to sit inside the historic spacecraft’s dangerous, high speed journey back to earth