Triumphant Return of MassMutual Jr. Astronauts!
Space Dreams Made Possible In the Spirit of “Dare to Dream”

Aug 15, 2011 Hong Kong

 

The MassMutual Jr. Space Camp 2011, exclusively sponsored and organized by MassMutual Asia Ltd., has achieved yet another successful touchdown. This year’s eight MassMutual Jr. Astronauts – Marcus Ng, Chloe Yeung, Jessamyn Chiu, Michael Lau, Travis Lui, Adrian Ngai, Chie Tong, and Gabrielle Tam – each with one of their parents, embarked on a nine-day space-exploration journey in late July at the US Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The team has now returned having successfully completed its mission.
 
MassMutual Asia held a Celebration Ceremony today (15 August 2011) to mark the triumphant return of the Jr. Astronauts. Patrons attending the ceremony included Ms Chea Shuk Mui, Candy, Ten Outstanding Young Persons Awardee and Media Veteran; Ir Dr The Hon Raymond Ho Chung Tai, SBS, MBE, SBStJ., JP, Legislative Councillor (Engineering Functional Constituency); Mr J.P. Lee, SBS, OBE, JP, Chairman, Agency for Volunteer Service; and Dr Eric K C Li, FCPA (Practising), GBS, OBE, JP, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Treasuring their space-exploration journey in the US, the eight Jr. Astronauts saw their space dreams come true as they experienced the life and work of real astronauts and gained a better understanding of the history of space exploration and the development of space technology. At the same time, by completing various challenging Space Camp missions, their knowledge was enhanced and their horizons were truly broadened. The eight participating parents commented that the space- exploration journey experience was invaluable. They also appreciated the rare chance to learn and complete various challenging space missions with their children and were delighted to witness positive changes and improvements in them. The Jr. Astronauts and their parents were also named winners of the “Space Shuttle Mission Trainer”assignment, demonstrating their high level of teamwork. In addition, Jr. Astronaut Chloe Yeung was presented with the “Right Stuff” outstanding award, in recognition of the in-depth space knowledge and excellence in leadership she demonstrated during the training.

The space-exploration journey offered the eight Jr. Astronauts practical as well as theoretical training courses, the simulated astronaut training and activities greatly enhancing the Jr. Astronauts’ knowledge of space flight. The training exercises they participated in, including "Space Shuttle Mission Trainer", involved the Jr. Astronauts and their parents playing different roles to complete an assigned space mission as a team. In the "1/6 Gravity Trainer", the team experienced moonwalking in a simulated one-sixth of the Earth’s gravity. The "Manned Maneuvering Unit" also gave them the virtual experience of performing missions outside the orbiting space shuttle. Other training exercises included tumbling and spinning in the "Multi-axis Trainer", to experience the weightlessness and free movement in space. During the trip, the Jr. Astronauts had the opportunity to understand more about the demanding life of an astronaut by meeting with Charles David Walker, a real-life astronaut who has completed three space missions.

Ms. Jeanne Sau, Program Commander and Chief Marketing Officer of MassMutual Asia, said, “MassMutual Asia pioneered the MassMutual Jr. Space Camp Program in 1999. Ever since its launch, we have been promoting the positive spirit of ‘It is Possible!’, and we encourage children to realize their space dreams with this ‘dare to dream’ spirit. The main aim of the program is to develop children's perseverance, inquisitiveness, and confidence through innovative and unique training experiences. Every year, we inject new elements into the training program. For instance, this year we introduced the extended 9-day space exploration journey with even more fulfilling training activities and itinerary to satisfy the needs of the Jr. Astronauts who crave space knowledge. We firmly believe if we dare to dream a brighter future, ‘It is Possible!’ that our dreams will come true one day!”

With the success of the “It is Possible!” Tee-Design Competition held last year, and in order to further promote children’s creativity, the “It is Possible!” Tote-Design Competition was launched earlier this year. Ms Sau added, “Creativity is one of the key elements of the MassMutual Jr. Space Camp. The Tote-Design Competition offers imaginative children an opportunity to demonstrate their creativity, and at the same time it helps promote environmental protection. The response to this competition was overwhelming, with over 1,000 submissions, which is clear evidence our children’s awareness and sense of responsibility towards environmental protection. The “It is Possible!” Tote-Design Competition Prize Presentation was also held during today’s ceremony. Prof. Raymond Au, Professor and Associate Head of the Institute of Textiles & Clothing of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, in his capacity as one of the competition judges, presented the gold, silver, and bronze awards to the winners. The winners and entries of merit have been uploaded on to the website of MassMutual Jr. Space Camp (www.itispossible.com.hk).

MassMutual Asia Ltd. is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group. Headquartered in Hong Kong, MassMutual Asia has over two thousand consultants. The company delivers professional one-stop risk- and wealth-management consulting services, including a series of flexible and innovative life insurance products, retirement plans and investment services. Besides the life insurance business, MassMutual Asia also operates several subsidiaries in Hong Kong, including MassMutual Asia Investors Ltd., which provides an array of wealth-management services, MassMutual Trustees Ltd., which focuses on MPF, and MassMutual Insurance Consultants Ltd., which handles general insurance.

MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing designation for the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates. With US$448 billion¹ in assets under management and 13 million customers, MassMutual Financial Group is a global, growth-oriented and diversified financial-services organization. Established in 1851, MassMutual enjoys exceptionally high financial ratings from major ratings agencies, including A.M. Best Company "A++" (Superior; top category of 15), Fitch Ratings "AA+" (Very Strong; second category of 21) and Standard & Poor's "AA+"rating (Very Strong; second category of 21) ² and is ranked in the renowned FORTUNE 500 as one of the “Five Largest US Life Insurance Companies”³.

 

Mr. Tay Keng Puang, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (2nd from left), Ms. Jeanne Sau, Chief Marketing Officer (1st from left) of MassMutual Asia, patrons, honorable guests and the Eight Jr. Astronauts.

The Eight Jr. Astronauts are chanting the program slogan - "It is Possible!". 

Note:
1. Figures as of December 31, 2010. 2. Ratings apply to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, C.M. Life Insurance Company and MML Bay State Life Insurance Company. Ratings are as of 8/1/2011 and are subject to change. 3. Ranked according to the aggregate results of [Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)] and [Insurance: Life, Health (Stock)] on the total revenues for 2010, based on the FORTUNE 500 as published on May 23, 2011.