Trisha Muro was fortunate to attend the various programs at Space Camp four times when she was a teenager. She still remembers the simulators (the multi-axis trainer was her favorite!), the shuttle missions, and the IMAX movies that capped off each thrilling day. What could possibly be better than learning about the science of space flight, walking through the museum to see the history of missions, and building good teamwork skills together with other kids who also loved space? 

Trisha was certain she’d be an astronaut someday—it wasn’t even a question. When she went to college at Johns Hopkins, she majored in physics and astronomy. But she also fell in love with education there, and she began volunteering as a tutor for inner-city elementary school kids. She finished her physics degree and also earned a master’s in teaching; soon, she had her own classroom of high school physics students. Throughout her almost ten years of teaching, she infused her classes with the enthusiasm and wonder that naturally bubbles over whenever she talks about science and space. After “retiring” from teaching to raise her own children, Trisha went back to school herself to earn another master’s degree, this time in science writing. To her, it’s the perfect blend of her science background, her experiences as a teacher, and her lifelong love of inspiring curiosity in others. 

Her debut book It’s (Just) Rocket Science draws upon the feeling she had at Space Camp when a new concept – like Hohmann transfer orbits! – completely reshaped the way she thought about how spaceflight works. The book itself teaches 16 core concepts of physics by looking at them through 16(ish) spaceflight missions, interweaving personal narrative and interviews with the scientists and engineers who work on those missions. With this book, she hopes to inspire readers of all ages (and all abilities) to keep asking questions, to explore the science all around us, and most of all to persist through the twists and turns of learning about challenging concepts.

She is so grateful to Space Camp for taking her innate excitement for space exploration and encouraging her to run with it, to soar! Many of Trisha’s favorite memories of Space Camp come from the year when her best friend won a scholarship to go with her. In gratitude, she is donating all her proceeds from the book to the Space Camp scholarship fund.