Ottawa-Carleton Educational Space Simulation

[3] Accompanying the Habitat is an array of custom-made software written by the current Teacher Adviser of the organization, Dr. James Magwood.

Dr. Magwood's work with the organization earned him Carleton University's 2010 Patrick O'Brien High School Teaching Award.

While the simulation generally steers away from speculative science such as a mission destination the existence of which is indeterminate, this year's was chosen to underscore for members the real life proliferation of exoplanets.

The current incarnation of the Habitat; composed entirely of drywall with metal supports; is made up of seven modules: the Control Room, Interlock, Longhouse, Hotlab, Washroom, Engineering Closet, and Airlock.

The computers run the simulation programs software such as EECOM (Emergency, Environmental & Consumables), BIOCOM (Biological Communications, which details the health of each astronaut both for Mission Control and for the astronauts), ORBIT (the piloting software) and Engineering, which is used to control the habitat's engineering systems.

These entail transporting one or more classes of students to the OCESS's facilities and providing them with science demonstrations in such fields as Electrostatics, Classical Physics, Rocketry, and special characteristics of the planets of the solar system.

The standard presentation is designed to complement the Grade 9 Ontario Science Curriculum, but the experience is equally suitable for a younger audience.