Alberta teen set to represent Western Canada at International Space School | Globalnews.ca
Space exploration may be at the forefront of the news cycle following the Artemis II mission, but for one Alberta teen, it’s always been his main focus.
Sixteen-year-old Thomas Toombes has been chosen as the 2026 Western Canada delegate to attend the International Space School in Houston this summer.
He’ll be joined by 50 other students from 25 countries. Together they will be sorted into teams with the task of designing a mission to Mars.
The teens will be responsible for calculating everything needed to simulate what it would take to bring society to the red planet.
“We’re planning to our best ability, in every single way, a Mars habitat,” said Thomas, “How to get humans there and any variable. We’re expected to cover, for example, food, water, trash, down to the electricity.”
Over two weeks, the teams cover specific departments. Some students will be assigned to do math for rocket launches whereas others will look into more civic duties.
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“As part of our mission, I want to make sure we have good medical systems on board,” said Thomas, who recalled the Artemis II team learning zero gravity CPR as part of their preparation.
The Western Canada delegate at the space school will represent Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Applicants must be aged between 15 to 19 to apply. However, a strong application and a deep interest in advancing space exploration and spaceflight is needed.
The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary is responsible for selecting the delegate, a role that isn’t taken lightly.
“There’s so much hope with the space industry and I think that can get people really charged up and we’d love to see a ton of applications come in next year,” said Lauren Maillet, the interim executive director of the Hanger Flight Museum.
“If you are too young for the program right now, keep your eye on the ball because Thomas knew before he was old enough to apply and spent his (time) preparing. And that’s what made him successful.”
The young Cochrane local has also had an encounter with NASA with its civilian science program, helping categorize Martian clouds into a database for the organization.
Thomas intends to study mechanical engineering at university and hopes a future career in space science is in his stars.
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