PHOTO COURTESY OF C. KLEIN VIA UNSPLASH.COM

Originally published June 6, 2025

WARNING: The contents of The Canine Comical are purely fictional and intended to be humorous, satirical. Readers are advised not to confuse them with real incidents. 

   MBMS partners with SpaceX to launch the world's first space field trip program this fall, making traditional yellow school buses seem like “old news” for students.

   The new program turns regular school trips into space adventures that last for weeks, instead of just one day. Students who used to visit local museums and state capitols now get ready for trips to faraway planets, with special space suits and floating practice sessions. The school district expects to save money on gas, but prepares to spend millions on rocket fuel.

   "I never knew my trip to Washington DC would turn into our class visiting Neptune," sixth-grader Alana Voss said. "The ice giant has way better science experiments than the Smithsonian."

   This revolutionary approach is changing how students pack for adventures. The days of brown bag lunches are gone—now students prepare freeze-dried snacks and space suits.

   "I plan to bring my pet dog with me on this field trip," eighth-grader Kaelia Thassel said. "He's been practicing floating in our swimming pool."

   The program has caught the attention of educators, with some expressing concerns about interplanetary bathroom logistics and homework collection procedures.

   "We’re installing special zero-gravity litter boxes for the pets," maintenance supervisor Rick Boltz said. "The biggest challenge is making sure nothing floats into the navigation system."

    SpaceX has invested billions in developing child-friendly spacecraft devices with floating-proof juice boxes and cosmic crayons that work in zero gravity.

   "Friday, Nov. 45 will mark the first day that bus number 175 takes riders through space to Neptune," Principal Marcus Tusk said. "We've installed seatbelts rated for lightspeed travel, just in case."

   The selection process has resulted in unexpected excitement among students throughout the district, with many practicing astronaut training in their backyards. Only 50 students will be chosen to participate in these intergalactic expeditions and everyone is training to win a spot.

   "I hope they have WiFi on Neptune so I can post on Instagram," Voss said. "My followers need to see me floating around the galaxy."

   School officials are preparing for the new challenges of space-based education, including zero-gravity pop quizzes and meteor shower fire drills.

   "We're training teachers in zero-gravity classroom management," Tusk said. "Apparently, you can't send kids to the principal's office when you're millions of miles from Earth."

   Parents throughout the community have expressed mixed reactions to the ambitious interplanetary field trip program and many wonder if it is safe to send their beloved children into the vast galaxy.

   "I'm just worried about carpool pickup from Jupiter," eighth-grade parent Lisa Rodriguez said. "Traffic is already bad enough on I-5."