Every question we get asked before a mission day. Answered here, not on a call.
You should not have to schedule a meeting to find out how much floor space we need. This page is the whole pre booking conversation in writing: logistics, standards, reports, student data, funding, and lead time. Read it, forward it to your business office, and book the briefing when you are ready to talk dates.
What the day actually requires from your campus.
How much space do you need?
A 40 by 40 foot indoor area works well. A gymnasium, cafeteria, or large classroom is typical. We bring the full simulator setup and handle all installation, which takes about 45 minutes. We work around STAAR windows, bell schedules, and campus events.
How long is a session?
The Meridian Rescue: 30 minutes of mission time, about 40 minutes with pre brief and debrief.
Intolerance, the AP Physics capstone: 90 minutes of mission time, about 105 minutes total. That one fits a block schedule better than a bell schedule.
How many students crew a session?
Five to six students crew the bridge per mission. Additional students observe and rotate in for subsequent runs. Crew roles rotate between sessions, so a student who was Captain in one run can be Engineering in the next.
How many sessions can we run in a day?
A half day is about four sessions and a full day is about eight. A full day serves up to 50 students on one bridge and up to 100 with two bridges running. For larger groups we run multiple consecutive days or bring additional bridge setups, and a multi day engagement serves 300 to 500 students across a week.
Do we need to provide staff?
No. Our crew handles all facilitation, technical setup, and student guidance. Your teachers are welcome to observe, and most of them do, because watching their own students on the bridge is the part that changes their mind about who the leaders in the room are.
What grades are these missions for?
The Meridian Rescue: grades 6 to 8.
Intolerance: grades 11 to 12, AP and honors physics.
We deliver campus mission days across grades 5 to 12. Read both mission files in the mission catalog.
What if a student has accommodations?
We can adjust for most needs. Let us know in advance about mobility, hearing, vision, or sensory considerations and we will work with you to make sure every student who wants a station gets one.
Where a mission day sits in your instructional plan.
What TEKS does this cover?
The Meridian Rescue: 20 Student Expectations across ELA, science, mathematics, and technology applications.
Intolerance: 8 Student Expectations across ELA and science practices.
We provide a full Standards Alignment Matrix with verbatim TEKS citations. Email [email protected] and we will send it. Mission evidence also maps to Leader in Me habits and CASEL competencies, and Bloom's cognitive levels ground the mission design itself. All of it is detailed on the schools page.
Can I use this as a graded assignment?
Yes, with appropriate framing. Our reports provide evidence of communication, teamwork, and applied reasoning, which is useful for formative assessment or participation credit. We recommend against using mission evidence as a high stakes summative grade. Treat it as one data point alongside your other measures.
Does this replace classroom instruction?
No. Missions work best as capstone experiences after students have learned the underlying content, or as introduction hooks that generate interest before a unit. They are enrichment, not curriculum replacement.
What about students who have already flown a mission?
Students can crew multiple missions without repetition, because each scenario is different. Within the same mission, crew roles rotate, so the experience changes with the chair.
What do teachers need to do beforehand?
Very little. We provide a short pre mission overview teachers can share, optional role cards so students can preview their station responsibilities, and discussion prompts for the post mission classroom debrief. Teachers do not need to learn the simulator or facilitate anything.
What do students need to know beforehand?
Nothing for The Meridian Rescue. It is designed as an accessible entry point. For Intolerance, students should have covered momentum, impulse, and energy in class. The mission applies what they have learned. It does not teach the concepts from scratch.
What you receive, and what we refuse to claim about it.
What reports do we get?
Student report: individual role performance, communication metrics, and teamwork indicators.
Teacher dashboard: class wide patterns, TEKS evidence, and clips and quotes for discussion.
Campus summary: aggregate metrics, standards documentation, and grant reporting data for administration.
You can read a sample crew report before you book.
When do we get the reports?
Reports are typically available within 48 hours of mission completion.
What does AI powered assessment actually mean?
The Mission Analysis System captures audio from every station, transcribes it with role labeling, and analyzes communication patterns: who spoke, how clearly, and how they coordinated with teammates. It maps observable evidence to TEKS Student Expectations.
What it is: objective, consistent documentation of what students said and did.
What it is not: a replacement for teacher judgment, a validated psychometric instrument, or a grade generator.
We are upfront about the distinction. Our reports show design coverage evidence, meaning this mission elicits these TEKS. They do not show criterion validated measurement, meaning this score predicts future performance. That validation work is underway through university research partnerships, and until it lands we will not claim it.
Is student data secure?
Recording and analysis run on Mobile Space Adventures equipment inside your building. No student audio, video, or transcript data leaves your site, and there is no cloud processing of student data. Voice identification features stay off for students. Reports describe crews and roles, and they never grade an individual child. No PII is retained after reports are delivered.
Before any mission is recorded, your school receives a consent packet covering what is captured, how long it is kept, when it is deleted, and who controls the data. Plain language detail is in our Data Practices summary, and your district's privacy officer can request the full documentation from us directly.
The part your business office asks about first.
How much does it cost?
Rates depend on session count, mission type, and scheduling, so every engagement is quoted. The three engagement shapes are laid out on the schools page, and most engagements sit below typical bid thresholds, purchasing under local district policy.
What funding sources work?
Title I: innovative instruction supporting student achievement.
Title II, Part A: professional development, when your campus leadership team is the crew.
Title IV, Part A: well rounded education and technology integration.
CTE and Perkins V: career readiness and applied STEM skills.
STEM grants: hands on science and engineering practice.
PTA and education foundation: enrichment programming.
Districts can also move money between Title II and Title IV under ESSA transferability. We provide budget justification language on request, and your federal programs office makes the final call on allowability.
Can you help with grant applications?
We provide standards alignment documentation, program descriptions, and outcome metrics to support your application. We do not write grants, but we will give you everything you need so your narrative does not start from a blank page.
What is the cancellation policy?
Reschedule free with 48 hours notice. A $100 reservation fee applies to cancellations inside 24 hours.
Dates, service area, and what happens next.
How far in advance should we book?
Two to four weeks minimum. Popular dates fill early, particularly end of semester and STEM week, so book earlier if you have a target date in mind.
What is the service area?
We currently serve the Austin metro and the surrounding Central Texas region. Ask us about availability elsewhere in Texas. Multi day engagements travel further than single campus days do.
What is the next step?
Book a 15-Minute Commander's Briefing. We answer your specific questions, confirm your dates work, and walk through what to expect. No slides, and no obligation.
Still have a question this page did not answer? Email [email protected] or text (737) 260-0362. We respond within one business day.
Questions answered.
Now claim the date.
Prefer to talk first? Email [email protected]