Girl Scouts of Connecticut (GSOFCT) proudly announce that four local Girl Scouts are winners of the national “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest. Among the winners is Danbury resident Lila Schlissel, an Ambassador in troop 50105.
Girl Scouts of the USA sponsored the competition during the summer to give troops a chance to win a Space Science badge that’s actually been to space on NASA’s Artemis I moon rocket. The Artemis I is planned to launch on November 16, 2022.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment considering that there are only 90 winners in the entire country,” says Diana Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Connecticut. “The girls will have to wait a bit to receive their prize—but we think it will be well worth it!”
The essays revolved around the topic of travelling to the moon and required the Girl Scouts to use their creative writing skills, as well as research facts from NASA and include current information on the planets.
The four winners from GSOFCT are:
Lila Schlissel, an Ambassador in troop 50105 from Danbury, CT
Madeleine Corbin, a Junior in troop 62007 from Middletown, CT
Ruby Weiner, a Juliette from Ridgefield, CT
Nadia Khokhar, a Cadette in troop 60617 from Branford, CT
Mahoney explains the Artemis 1 mission will be an uncrewed test flight that orbits the moon and returns 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.
The winners received congratulatory videos from Cindy Marten, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Education, and Pam Melroy, Deputy Administrator at NASA.