This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 16: NASAâs Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule attached, launches at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on November 16, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Artemis I mission will send the uncrewed spacecraft around the moon to test the vehicle's propulsion, navigation and power systems as a precursor to later crewed mission to the lunar surface. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Four troop members from the Girl Scouts of Connecticut can show off a badge that went to outer space.
Girl Scouts of Connecticut announced on Wednesday that ambassador Lila Schlissel of troop 50105 from Danbury, junior Madeleine Corbin of troop 62007 from Middletown, Juliette Ruby Weiner from Ridgefield and cadette Nadia Khokhar in troop 60617 from Branford, were the winners of the national “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest.
The essay contest asked girl scouts to share how they saw their role in space exploration and required them to use their creative writing skills, research facts from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Participants competed to win a Space Science badge that has been to space on NASA’s Artemis I moon rocket.
Lila Schlissel from Danbury, Madeleine Corbin of Middletown, Ruby Weiner of Ridgefield and Nadia Khokhar from Branford are among 90 national winners of the “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest. The four Girl Scouts of Connecticut will receive a commemorative Space Science badge that travels on NASA’s Artemis I moon rocket set to launch on November 16, 2022.
Contributed by Girl Scouts of Connecticut“This is an outstanding accomplishment considering that there are only 90 winners in the entire country,” said Diana Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, in a release. “The girls will have to wait a bit to receive their prize—but we think it will be well worth it!”
Badges are earned by Girl Scouts when they learn a new skill and are used to recognize their accomplishments.
"Space has always been an enigma to me. The vastness of it, the ways in which it bends our understanding of science and reason: these are the qualities that intrigue me and so many other people," said Schlissel. "To be able to have an object that has been where I will likely never go, especially with a little fear of heights, is what fascinated me and made me want to enter the contest."
Launched on Wednesday, the Artemis 1 mission is an uncrewed test flight that orbited the moon and returned to Earth with 90 Girl Scout Space Science badges on board. This mission is NASA’s first step toward the goal of sending the first woman and the first person of color to the moon, according to Mahoney.
“This is one of many Girl Scout initiatives to encourage interest in the STEM field,” said Mahoney.
Girl Scouts of Connecticut's mission is to help build courage, confidence and character. The group has served over 18,000 youth and 9,000 adult members and are all over the state, according to a press release.
In October, the Girl Scouts of Connecticut received a $2.4 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. The donation was part of an $84.5 million donation awarded to the Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 local councils selected by Scott. According to the press release, it was the largest donation from a single individual in the national organization’s history.