Reach for the stars – a coding guide from a real-life NASA astronaut!

Scott Kelly is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Navy Captain. In 2015, he set the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American, spending 340 days aboard the International Space Station. Throughout his career, Scott has demonstrated remarkable resilience, curiosity and a passion for exploration. Want to know how coding relates to the incredible work that astronauts, like Scott, do? Here, he shares how!

Space exploration

Coding powers the technology that makes space missions possible, from spacecraft navigation to scientific experiments. Healthcare innovationsCoding is behind the development of cutting-edge medical technologies, from diagnostic tools to telemedicine.

Environmental solutions

Coding helps create sophisticated models and simulations to tackle climate change and environmental conservation.

Future readiness

In an increasingly digital world, coding skills are highly sought after in nearly every industry, providing a competitive edge in the future job market.

Everyday life

Coding drives the technology we use daily, from smartphones to smart homes, making our lives more efficient and connected.

Ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a true coding ninja? The first step on any ninjas journey is to gain knowledge and use it to your advantage so, Scott and the Senseis at Code Ninjas have put together this coding activity for you to try at home. Can you master the challenge?

Head to Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) and click on CREATE: 1 – Add two Sprites! This can be done by clicking a blue button near the bottom right of the screen that has a cat-image on it. 2 – Now, head to the left side task bar to click the yellow circle “Events” and drag over the “When (green flag icon) Clicked” event which will run any code attached when the green flag icon is clicked – go ahead and click it. 3 – Next click the light orange circle “Control” and find the forever loop to attach to the “When (green flag icon) Clicked” step. Anything you put inside this piece will occur again, and again, and again, without stopping. 4 – Find the blue circle “Motion” tab to the left and grab the “point towards (mouse pointer)” to put in the loop. Once there, change the (mouse pointer) drop down menu to show the name of one of your sprites. 5 – Now, add another motion task “move 10 steps” so that the sprite you listed in step 4, the other sprite will head towards it without stopping! But why not add some more directions to make your mini-game work a little better? 6 – Click on the sprite to the right that you listed in step four, and then follow steps two and three again – but this time use the “repeat until” loop. 7 – Scroll down the “Control” menu to find the blue sensing task of “touching (mouse pointer)” which you will drag onto the repeat until piece. Change the drop down to the sprite, so not “mouse pointer” or “edge” to tell it that when your sprite touches the other, that is when this next loop will end. 8 – Now go back to the blue circle “Motion” and add “go to (random position)” but this time change the drop down to “mouse pointer”. This will have your sprites chasing each other as long as you have your mouse on the sprite listed in step four! Now it’s up to you to add more! Maybe change their size, position them differently, or add speech bubbles so each sprite can say something.

Belt up at Code Ninjas!

​Code Ninjas teaches you to code by helping you to build your own video games, which your friends and family can play with you and even buy and download once it’s finished. The other great thing is that a lot of the stuff you learn during sessions is built around games you’ll already know and love – Scratch®, Minecraft®, and Roblox®, to name a few. And the excitement doesn’t stop there.

Coding instructors are called Senseis. In Japanese martial arts, a Sensei is a teacher or an instructor. What better name for someone who is going to help you learn how to code? With their support, you’ll get to build all sorts of fun things, like robots and drones, and generally learn everything you need to become a fully trained coding ninja. As you complete each level of the programme, you’ll be awarded with a coloured wristband – sort of like how you move up through the levels in martial arts, but instead of a belt, you get a colour-coded wristband that keeps track of your progress.

You can start at Code Ninjas when you’re as young as five and the programme continues right the way through until you’re 14 – just imagine what you could learn to do in that time! By the end, you’ll be a black belt ninja, with your very own work available online.

To find out more about Code Ninjas and to find out if there’s a centre near you, visit www.codeninjas.co.uk