Rick Mastracchio with the International Space Station Travel Bug
An American astronaut Rick Mastracchio (AstroRM) enters the Geocaching history books. He logged the First-to-Find (FTF) on one of the most exclusive geocaches in existence. It’s a geocache hidden five years ago aboard the International Space Station. The geocache has orbited 260 miles above the Earth since geocaching pioneer and video game designer Richard Garriott created the geocache in 2008.
Signed logbook on the International Space Station geocache
Astronaut Rick Mastracchio’s FTF log reads, “The geo space bug (TB5JJN1) has made it to the Russian Service Module, panel 218. He traveled from Waterbury, CT to Houston, TX to Cologne, Germany to Moscow, Star City Russia, to Baikonur Kazakhstan where it launched on a Russian Soyuz Rocket to the International Space Station. He has traveled around the space station and will continue to do so for the next 6 months. When he is not traveling he will be staying with me in my very small crew quarters. He hangs/floats on my wall and waits for more adventures while I do research and perform experiments here on ISS. Thanks for getting this little guy started Cizzors. Every journey starts with the first step and you took the first step of this one. Rick.”
Mastracchio thanked fellow Connecticut geocacher Robert Cizauskas (Cizzors) who first introduced the idea of geocaching to the astronaut. More than 26,000 geocachers at nearly 1,200 events around the world celebrated Geocaching in Space during Mastracchio’s launch into orbit.
The Travel Bug with hitchhikers to be delivered to schools back on Earth
The Travel Bug is riding along with Mastracchio on an educational mission. He’ll use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach kids back on Earth about geography and science.
The Travel Bug is scheduled to return to Earth when Mastracchio finishes his six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.
The previous Travel Bug Richard Garriott carried to the space station remained on-board the ISS for three years. It accumulated more than 350 million miles as it orbited the Earth. That Travel Bug returned to Earth by one of the last U.S. Shuttle missions to visit the International Space Station.
Watch the video of Richard Garriott’s mission to space. Leave your best wishes for Rick Mastracchio below in comments.
Whether you’re watching the rocket launch live or celebrating the spirit of exploration afterward, you’re part of a global community of adventurers commemorating a big day in geocaching history. Find and share your event now through this interactive global map. We’re here to help connect your event to the worldwide geocaching community and make it a success.
When is the Launch:
November 7 at 04:08 a.m. GMT – Convert to your time zone here
Where to Watch the Launch on the Web:
NASA Television: coverage of the launch begins an hour before liftoff.
Join Geocaching HQ from our Geocaching in Space event with a Google Hangout, beginning approximately 15 minutes before the launch.
Tagboard.com/SpaceCaching Follow and join the Geocaching in Space community by tagging #SpaceCaching on your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, tumblr, Vine, and Google+ posts.
New Limited-Edition Geocaching in Space Mission Patch
Order and show off your new Geocaching in Space Mission Patch. All proceeds from the sale of the patch will be donated to the educational charity Donorschoose.org. And of course, you should go geocaching after the event.
Who to Invite:
Reach out to the local community to join in the historic event and the adventure of geocaching. Use the text below as a guide when posting the event to local blogs, sending the announcement to newspapers, or alerting the media about your unique event.
Join a celebration of the spirit of exploration ________ night/morning. A symbol of exploration and adventure rockets into space on (insert local time). It’s known as a Geocaching Travel Bug®. An astronaut is taking the Travel Bug to the International Space Station and will use the it to teach students back on Earth about geography and science. A group of local adventurers, known as geocachers, will be hosting an event to watch the rocket launch live. They’re joining geocachers at more than 1000 geocaching events around the world celebrating the launch. Everyone is welcome to join in the celebration.
Meet at __________ at ______________ to witness a moment in history, watch a rocket launch and maybe experience the adventure of geocaching afterward.
Please go to Geocaching.com, sign-in or sign-up and RSVP to (your Event URL) so we know to expect you.
What if the launch is delayed?
Still hold your event, watch some of the other videos, earn your souvenir and celebrate the spirit of exploration from Geocaching in Space.
It’s the Travel Bug® that’s taking the global Geocaching community on a rocket ride to space. Whether you’re in Mexico or France, Australia or Korea you’re primed to join the geocaching community in celebrating the spirit of exploration. There are more than 800 Geocaching in Space events scheduled around the world. Those who attend Event Caches on either November 6 or November 7 earn the Geocaching in Space souvenir.
Join the adventure and watch the launch live as Astronaut Rick Mastracchio packs the Travel Bug along on his 6 month mission aboard the International Space Station. He’ll use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students back on earth about geography and science. Geocaching HQ is offering a limited edition Geocaching in Space Mission Patch. Geocaching will donate proceeds from the patch to Donorschoose.org for use in funding projects that use geocaching as an educational tool.
Geocaching in Space Event Owners: Be on the lookout for an email from Geocaching HQ later this week. We’ll serve up details on how to watch the launch live, how to connect with the 800+ events around the world and how to celebrate afterwards (hint: geocaching).
Guest Blog Post By Robert Cizaukas (Username: Cizzors)
The students from Waterbury’s Chase Elementary School, the same school Astronaut Rick Mastracchio’s graduated from.
This journey all began on August 29, 2013. I read a story in the Waterbury Republican American Newspaper titled, “Waterbury native to spend 6 months out of this world”. It was an interesting story about a Waterbury Public School graduate, Rick Mastracchio (Username: AstroRM) who had become an astronaut and was headed to the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2013. I had never met Mr. Mastracchio, but had previously read about his accomplishments. Later that day, I was out geocaching with my brother-in-law, Tony Jannetty (Username: DavidPuddy) working on the 31 Days of Geocaching streak when the newspaper article about Mastracchio came up in conversation. We had previously talked at length about the ISS geocache and the Travel Bug® that had been there. Tony said that he had an idea that he thought I should pursue: If I could get Mastracchio to take a Travel Bug up to the ISS, it could be an inspirational and educational opportunity for the children of Waterbury – a once in a life time experience with space travel and geography. We brainstormed what the program would look like and how we would find a way to contact Mastracchio to pitch the idea to him.
Robert Cizauskas, aka Cizzors.
I had a lot of interest. I was born and raised in Waterbury, Connecticut and graduated from the public school system. Waterbury is a city that faces many of the same problems that other urban areas around the United States experience, including in its public school system. As a City of Waterbury Police Officer, I have the opportunity to currently serve as the Lieutenant in charge of the Waterbury Police Activity League (PAL). Waterbury PAL is a nonprofit organization run by police officers designed to promote partnerships between law enforcement, the community and youth through educational, recreational and athletic activities. I have used geocaching as an interesting way to engage the at-risk youth that we service.
To get in touch with Mastracchio, I began to doing online research and asked around. Through a co-worker that had gone to school with a relative of Mastracchio, I was able to get in contact with him. Mastracchio was interested in finding a new way to engage children in his mission and began emailing me directly with questions about geocaching and Travel Bugs. Finally, Mastracchio informed me that he would take the Travel Bug with him to the ISS. Mastracchio was excited to use this Travel Bug as an educational tool and had many of his own ideas on how to make this project even more exciting for the children participating in the project. I had originally planned to work with Waterbury’s Chase Elementary School on this project because Mastracchio had graduated from this elementary school and I thought this could be a truly inspirational project for the children of that school to know that through hard work anything is possible. I activated the Travel Bug (TB5JJN1) and took it to the school for pictures with the kids. I explained the project to the children and teachers and, shortly after, sent the Travel Bug to Mastracchio.
Mastracchio came up with an idea of adding 11 hitchhiker tags labeled “Exp 38” to represent Expedition 38, the mission that he was taking the Travel Bug® on. Mastracchio wanted to add 10 additional schools and give each school a hitchhiker from the Travel Bug® that had been to the ISS. I contacted additional schools about the project and visited classrooms to explain what we were planning. All of the schools quickly signed on to be part of this once in a lifetime experience.
The Expedition 38 crew. Astronaut Rick Mastracchio is third from the left in the back row.
To make this an interactive experience for the children involved, Mastracchio took pictures of the Travel Bug® along the way and posted them online for the students involved to see where the Travel Bug® had traveled and to engage them in classroom discussions about the locations and significance to space travel. Students have also been posting their own pictures and questions on the Travel Bug page. Mastracchio took the time to view the page and answer questions about NASA, Space Travel, and the ISS. Mastracchio is scheduled to launch from Russia on November 6, 2013 at approximately 11 pm ET, and I expect all of the excitement related to this project to continue for the entire six months that he is on the ISS.
Geocaching has decided to award a souvenir to anyone that attends a Geocaching in Space event on November 6th or 7th. I setup the first of over 500 Geocaching in Space Events around the world in Waterbury (GC4PEVR). These events will be an excellent way to celebrate the launch of Mastracchio and the Travel Bug®. Mastracchio commented that all of the attention the expedition was getting from geocachers is “incredible”.
The International Space Station Travel Bug II (TB5JJN1), by the 5th Grade Class of Chase Elementary School-Waterbury, CT
An amazing and unexpected part of this project has been the notes that geocachers from around the world have posted to Mastracchio and the students on the Travel Bug® page. The students involved have been reading these posts regularly in their classrooms and have been learning about each country the geocachers are from. Many of the posts are in languages other than English, which is offering additional learning opportunities for the students as they decipher what is posted. The teachers and students have embraced this project, making cards, posters and pictures that we have posted to the Travel Bug® page for everyone to see.
From the very beginning, Tony and I envisioned that this project would be an educational opportunity for one urban school of children to learn that, through hard work and dedication, anything can be accomplished, like Mastracchio has proven. Mastracchio will use the Travel Bug® to teach the students about what he does, so it might inspire some young person to strive for something he or she never expected they might be capable of. This Travel Bug® project continues to exceed our expectations as more and more countries from around the world become involved. I am very thankful to Mastracchio, Geocaching HQ, Tony, the Waterbury Public School System, and geocachers around the world for supporting this educational effort. Everyone involved is elated in anticipation of this Travel Bug® launching to the ISS, and are extremely excited to see this epic geocaching adventure unfold.
Geocaching is heading towards the International Space Station (ISS). All of geocaching? No, not all of it, but a very special little Travel Bug® named TB5JJN1 is tagging along with Nasa astronaut Rick Mastracchio on his mission to the ISS. Mastracchio will be using the Travel Bug as an educational tool to help teach students around the world about geography and geocaching. Mastraccio will Rocket into Space on November 7, 2013 (GMT). Every geocacher who attends a Geocaching Event on November 6 or 7, 2013 will be awarded a “Geocaching in Space” souvenir. In additional, Geocaching in Space Mission Patches will be sold, and proceeds will to the educational charity DonorsChoose.org.
