This free Space Station team-building activity challenges participants to work together and decide which items are most important for a fictional space mission. The exercise is designed to encourage teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem-solving while being easy for trainers to run in around 30 minutes.
How long does the Space Station team-building activity take?
- 30 minutes is the ideal time frame to allocate to this team-building game.
- Free activity.
Space Station Exploration Challenge
Scenario
You and your team are astronauts aboard the Victnord Space Station, a research space station orbiting the distant XCV Planet.
A recent solar anomaly has opened up a window of opportunity to study the unique phenomena of the planet, a very rare research opportunity.
Your mission as a team is to gather important scientific data, conduct experiments, and report your findings back to HQ.
The research window is only 72 hours, and your team must choose 5 essential items from a list of 20 to successfully complete the experiments and transmit the data. Strategic thinking and teamwork are crucial!
Research Items List
- Oxygen tank
- Emergency space blanket
- Radiation shielding fabric
- Solar-powered battery pack
- Scientific data logger
- Water filtration device
- Jet propulsion pack
- Digital experiment A-Z book
- Space food rations
- Toolkit (wrench, screwdriver, etc.)
- Flashlight with extra batteries
- Portable oxygen generator
- 3D printer (for making scientific tools)
- Extra spacesuit gloves
- Microgravity treadmill (to maintain health)
- Satellite communication device
- Notebook and pen
- Sample collection containers
- Robotic drone for research assistance
- High-powered telescope
How do you run the Space Station team-building activity?
1. Split participants into teams of 4 to 6 participants (astronauts).
2. Provide each team with a copy of the list of 20 items and a mission briefing.
3. Now give the teams 15 minutes to choose 5 items they believe are most crucial for completing their scientific objectives.
4. After 15 minutes of discussion, each team presents its rationale for its choices.
5. Introduce a “Research Opportunity Twist” halfway through!
6. Example: “A new discovery requires immediate sample collection!” Teams must now decide whether to swap an item for another to adapt.
7. Class discussion – bring the class together for a chat about how the teams make decisions, any issues they had, who took a leadership role, and anything else they feel worth mentioning.
What skills does this team-building activity develop?
This is a great training activity for 4 key reasons:
- Pushes participants to use decision-making and critical thinking skills.
- Involves the need for teamwork and communication.
- Helps you identify natural leaders in a collaborative setting (useful if you are a manager)
- Promotes creative thinking through exploration and experimentation.
Storytelling Element: Astronaut Roles
If you want to make the activity even more interesting, assign each participant a specific role on the space station to add a storytelling dimension to the game. Possible roles include:
- Commander: Oversees the mission and makes final decisions.
- Research Specialist: Focuses on scientific experiments and data collection.
- Medical Officer: Ensures the health and safety of the crew.
- Data Analyst: Analyzes data and interprets research findings.
- Engineer: Manages equipment and repairs any technical issues.
- Communications Officer: Handles messages with Mission Control and other teams.
This new storytelling layer encourages participants to think from different perspectives, adds depth to decision-making, and makes the experience immersive and memorable.
Activity Number 2: Victnord Space Station Wishlist
Scenario
The participants have to imagine that they are part of an Italian crew sent to the Victnord Space Station in a distant galaxy, and they will be there for 6 months.
Many of the supplies that they can take are pre-determined by the space mission controllers back in Sicily, Italy.
As a team of five, you are allowed to take any 10 items at all with you as a team, and the items can be anything at all that you wish to take.
You must agree as a team on what items will be taken.
The participants will need to think about issues such as:
- Will you be able to use the items in a zero-gravity setting?
- Is the item perishable, and how long will it last?
- How many people in the team will benefit from the items?
The participants should have an explanation of why they have chosen each item.
If you have several teams in the class, end the activity by having each team explain its choices to the rest of the class.
Debriefing session – discuss team decision-making, problem-solving, and leadership.
This remains one of the simplest games both to play and to organize as a corporate training activity.
In doing so, participants will have to discuss options, share ideas, debate, and maybe think outside the box.
So, this activity can also be good as part of a creativity training session, as well as a team-building session.
Where can you find more team-building games and activities?
For more ideas, see our full collection of free team-building activities and games for trainers.
You might also be interested in instantly downloadable, customizable teaching materials that you can use for employee training or for teaching college and university students business studies and soft skills – see below:
See Our Ready-to-Use Training Materials
- Fully editable PowerPoint slides
- Trainer Notes & participant guide
- Printable participant workbooks, handouts & activities in the PPTs
