International Student Space Simulation
The International Student Space Simulation (ISSS) was an international organization of high school programs that conducted simultaneous Space Simulation missions each year. Students from Canada, the USA, the USSR, Japan, Mexico, Germany, and the Netherlands were involved.
Contents
Origins
Students from Lisgar Collegiate Institute first became involved with Space Simulation when a group of students were invited to participate at a mission at McCullough High School, Houston in 1989, along with a team of six students from Japan. Lisgar contributed astronauts to three exchanges in Texas until 1991. At this point, students from Lisgar presented the Ottawa Board of Education with a proposal to build their own Lunar Habitat and conduct their own annual mission. This formed the Ottawa Board of Education Space Simulation (OBESS).
1990-91
Some current Spacesim members are presently looking through archives and mission notes for more information on the ISSS. This has revealed the existence of ISSS member organizations at 30 locations in North America as of 1990-91, significantly more than previously known. It is unknown how many of these had Habitats. The following table shows locations of such organizations:
| Location | Schools |
|---|---|
| Canada | 4 |
| Ontario | 2 |
| British Columbia | 2 |
| USA | 25 |
| Texas | 5 |
| Illinois | 4 |
| Colorado | 2 |
| Minnesota | 2 |
| Missouri | 2 |
| Florida | 1 |
| Idaho | 1 |
| Indiana | 1 |
| New York | 1 |
| Ohio | 1 |
| Oregon | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Utah | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 |
| Mexico | 1 |
| Total | 30 |
Demise
Over time, the participating schools in the ISSS lost interest. The OBESS, however, retained contact with its sister-mission site in Lexington, South Carolina, until 2001. Another exchange, involving a new Spacesim in Florida, was hosted in Ottawa in 2002.
