NATCHEZ — Mission Space to Ground Control, the senior prom has ended.

When The Dart landed on Martin Luther King Jr. Street near Madison Street, Cathedral High School juniors and their parents, plus a few teachers were busy tearing down in 90 minutes what took 8 hours to build just two days before.

This year’s theme was “Out of this World” and by the time the students and parents had finished, the decorations rocketed guests to a place far, far away from school.

“It didn’t look like the cafeteria,” Mary Frances Sessions said Sunday afternoon after mopping the floors.

With paint, sheets of black plastic, flashing lights, cardboard tubes and a go cart, the juniors transformed the space into a lunar landscape filled with planets, stars, a rocket ship and a lunar lander.

The transformation process started at the final school bell Friday afternoon and continued until 1 a.m.

The deconstruction process was much faster, Sessions and her classmate Carmen Serio said Sunday. When the juniors returned Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. they found a few lights still flashing and streamers on the floor. The classmates immediately started tearing down and collecting things.

“I grabbed the (plastic backdrop) and ran with it,” Serio said.

From the moment they entered the cafeteria Sunday, the students focused on completing their mission. Even still, some classmates took a few moments to have some fun.

“I did like sucking the helium out of the balloons,” Sessions said. “That was funny.”

By 2:30 p.m., not a speck of moon dust or space garbage was left in the school cafeteria.

“It was way easier than putting (the prom) together,” classmate Gracie Bertelsen said.

Cathedral teacher and parent Jessie Wallace, who was also in charge of organizing this year’s prom, said the juniors worked hard to make the prom for the senior class fun and creative.

“It was a ton of work,” Wallace. “But it was pretty impressive and well worth it.”

As a mannequin made to look like an astronaut was dismantled, parents and students slowly filed out of the room to go home.

“It’s kind of sad,” junior class parent Melissa Vaughan said. “Within 48 hours they transformed (the cafeteria) and now it is gone.”

Mission accomplished.