Internships – NeRDs Moonbase

2024 SARP West Closeout

September 25, 2024 NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) The Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) 2024 West Coast cohort poses in front of the natural sciences building at UC Irvine, during their final presentations on August 12, 2024. NASA Ames/Milan Loiacono On August 12-13, 24 students from the West Coast cohort of NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) gathered at University of California, Irvine (UCI) to present their final research to a room of mentors, professors, family, and NASA personnel. SARP is an eight-week summer internship for undergraduate…

When Teachers Become the Students: Educators Spend Summer Studying STEM Engagement at Johnson

August 5, 2024 NeRD

The summer months are usually a time for teachers to take a break from the classroom and enjoy some well-earned rest. But at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, two experienced educators dedicated their summer vacations to learning how to enrich their students’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and inspire them to achieve their dreams. Johnson’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) welcomed Jerry “Denise” Dunn and Shawnda Folsom as full-time interns for the summer. Both women came to Johnson through the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium, which not only…

The Future is Bright: Johnson Space Center Interns Shine Throughout Summer Term

July 24, 2024 NeRD

More than 100 interns supported operations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer, each making an important impact on the agency’s mission success. Get to know seven stellar interns nominated by their mentors for their hard work and outstanding contributions. Stella Alcorn stands inside the Orion mockup within Johnson Space Center’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Stella Alcorn Assignment: Engineering Directorate, Guidance, Navigation, and Control Autonomous Flight Systems Branch, Orion Program Education: Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University; graduating May 2026 Proudest internship accomplishment: Learning a new software program…

NASA’s Neurodiversity Network Interns Speak at National Space Development Conference

July 8, 2024 NeRD

2 min read NASA’s Neurodiversity Network Interns Speak at National Space Development Conference Two high school interns funded by NASA’s Neurodiversity Network (N3) presented their work from Summer 2023 at the recent National Space Society (NSS) International Space Development Conference (ISDC-2024), held in Los Angeles, CA (May 23-26, 2024). Both interns were mentored by Dr. Pascal Lee, Planetary Scientist at the SETI Institute and Chair of the Mars Institute, who accompanied them to the conference. Intern Finn Braun, who is now a high school junior, co-authored the paper “An ATV…

NASA Grant Brings Students at Underserved Institutions to the Stars

April 26, 2024 NeRD

5 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Julia Chavez examines an experiment within an oxygen-free chamber at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in March. Chavez is one of several students from California State University, Los Angeles who are interning at JPL’s Origins and Habitability Lab. NASA/JPL-Caltech Cathy Trejo (right) shows off a tube filled with pebbles designed to mimic Martian regolith. During experiments, fluid is flushed through the tube many times, giving JPL astrobiology interns like Trejo and Julia Chaves (left) the chance to study how chemicals…

Former STEM Enhancement in Earth Science Interns Receive Prestigious Awards

January 31, 2024 NeRD

3 min read Former STEM Enhancement in Earth Science Interns Receive Prestigious Awards The STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer Intern Program is a nationally competitive STEM program for high school students. The program provides selected students with exposure to Earth and Space research. Interns learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work. This content knowledge, coupled with hands-on experiences, allows the intern to gain experience in authentic NASA research through field investigation and data analysis. Several former…

NASA Interns at Johnson’s Rock Yard

January 22, 2024 NeRD

NASA/James Blair In this image from May 22, 2023, a NASA intern uses an augmented reality headset to test out heads-up display technology being developed for future Artemis missions. This technology was created as part of the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students, or SUITS, design challenge in which college students from across the country help design user interface solutions for future spaceflight needs. Today marks the beginning of NASA’s Spring 2024 internship season; across the country, hundreds of interns are joining the Artemis Generation and contributing to the…

Advice from NASA Mentors to Students Starting Their Careers

January 10, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) GSFC summer interns NASA is celebrating National Mentoring Month by recognizing the importance of mentors to students and young professionals whose careers are beginning to take off. Mentors help their mentees gain real-world experiences, make valuable connections, and find the types of roles best suited to their strengths and skills. To learn more about early career takeaways, we spoke to three NASA mentors: Renita Fincke, NASA biomedical research projects engineer at Johnson Space Center in Houston; Wade Sisler, executive…

The Space Life Sciences Training Program at Ames Research Center

October 18, 2023 NeRD

Space Life Sciences Training Program An investment in tomorrow The Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) provides undergraduate students entering their junior or senior years, and entering graduate students, with professional experience in space life science disciplines. This challenging ten-week summer program is hosted by NASA’s Ames Research Center in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. The primary goal of the program is to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, enabling NASA to meet future research and development challenges in the space life sciences. Summer 2023 SLSTP students…