Remember those childhood dreams of becoming an astronaut? During winter break, Regina Buccello, an Ohio State senior majoring in behavioral neuroscience, inched closer to making her NASA dreams a reality.For three weeks in December, Buccello became intricately informed about the latest NASA projects and procedures as she toured the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas with top NASA personnel.”It was an excellent opportunity for me. Most people don’t get to do this in a lifetime,” Buccello said.Buccello’s NASA aspirations originated when she was an Air Force cadet at Wright State University before she transferred to OSU her sophomore year. With intentions of a career in space psychology, Buccello arranged her mini-internship at NASA with Albert Holland, chief of psychology at Johnson Space Center.Although Holland is currently in Russia working on the Russian Mir Program and was unavailable for comment, Kelly Curtis, psychological support scientist at Wyle Laboratories in NASA’s psychology department, offered her impressions about Buccello’s unique experience.”I think it helped give her insight and direction for after graduation,” Curtis said.Spending time with Curtis, Buccello learned about various psychology projects at NASA involving long-duration space flights, Buccello said.Presently, the psychology department at NASA is testing advance life support systems for a future voyage to Mars, Curtis said. For this project, engineer volunteers at NASA were secluded in chambers that recycle air and water for periods from 14 to 90 days and monitored closely.The Lunar/Mars Project includes developing psychological training techniques to prepare astronauts for long-duration flights, Buccello said. To aid in the mental trials of space travel, the psychology department is creating crew care packages for astronauts in coordination with their families. Also, the psychology department plays an integral role in the selection process to determine who is best suited for space travel.During her visit, Buccello was exposed to the emergency procedures astronauts use in space. She also toured the mock space shuttle, flight simulators, astronaut training planes, and control room for the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. The Neutral Buoyancy Lab is a giant pool that simulates zero gravity so astronauts can practice constructing the International Space Station under space-like conditions.The highlight of her experience at Johnson Space Center was meeting the astronauts from the Endeavor flight crew, who had just returned from a successful mission assembling part of the International Space Station, Buccello said.These astronauts were the first crew to add American-made equipment to the International Space Station. One of the crew members for this flight was OSU alumna Nancy Currie, a mission specialist for NASA.”I really admire the work they’ve done,” Buccello said.Buccello plans to apply to graduate schools for psychology and one day hopes to work in the psychology department at NASA. She values her time at Johnson Space Center as a thoroughly fulfilling and useful experience for her career ambitions.”I’ve always had a fascination with NASA. This was like a dream come true,” Buccello said.