We Have Lift Off

Birthdays are too much fun to limit to just a day. We therefore enjoyed a second day out to make the most of our visit to the Midlands Branch. This day out couldn't have been more different to our visit to Bradgate Park, although it did have a trip to Leicestershire in common.

Our day out was an out of this world experience - literally! - as it was to the National Space Centre. If you've got a sense of adventure and a good imagination, just as we bears have, you'll be in your element, especially as there are so many interactive displays.

A first for us was a walk on the surface of Mars ...


... that's exactly what Moose and Pedro are pioneering in our picture. They said the surface wasn't quite as warm as they were expecting, although they understood why it is called the red planet.

The technical experts among us were quite fascinated by the model of the Beagle 2 space probe, as it would have looked, going about it's business analysing the surface of Mars, if it hadn't been lost on landing.


We don't like to brag too much, but we couldn't help feeling that had the contract been awarded to Bears Unlimited, the outcome could have been so completely different. Looking at it, we reckon we could have landed that probe safely, but we'll probably never get a chance to prove it.

Talking about crash landings, one of the highlights of the day for us, was the journey we went on from the moon, to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons. It was on a simulator, but ask any bear who was there, and it was incredibly realistic. We had to wear funny glasses and and had to be secured in with a safety bar. It was a real rollercoaster ride (which is why we couldn't take a photo to show you) and we were really shaken around, especially when we crash landed. Our craft skidded, at very high speeds, over the surface of Europa, hurtling through canyons and cliffs. We bravely clung on and enjoyed the adrenalin rush, although we were very relieved when our space craft finally came to a halt.

That's probably enough excitement for our readers for one day, but we'll be back soon to tell you what else we enjoyed at the National Space Centre.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx