STEM Engagement at NASA – Page 4

Going Back-to-School with NASA Data

September 16, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) As students head back to school, teachers have a new tool that brings NASA satellite data down to their earthly classrooms. The My NASA Data homepage categorizes content by areas of study called spheres and also Earth as a system. NASA/mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov For over 50 years of observing Earth, NASA’s satellites have collected petabytes of global science data (that’s millions and millions of gigabytes) – with terabytes more coming in by the day. Since 2004, the My NASA Data website has…

NASA Mobilizes Resource for HBCU Scholars, Highlighted at Conference

September 16, 2024 NeRD

A NASA MITTIC participant during the competition’s on-site experience and Space Tank at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Dec. 7, 2022. (Credit: Riley McClenaghan) NASA will spotlight its program to engage underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering, and math at the 2024 National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference in Philadelphia, from Sunday, Sept. 15, to Thursday, Sept. 19. As part of the White House’s initiative to advance educational equity and economic opportunities through HBCUs, NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) provides HBCU…

NASA Celebrates 25 Years of High School Aerospace Scholars

August 29, 2024 NeRD

For 25 years, the Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center has inspired and provided high school students across the state of Texas with NASA-focused learning experiences through the High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) program. The OSTEM team celebrated the milestone on Monday, July 29 at Johnson’s Gilruth Center with poster sessions, special presentations, and a networking reception. Fifty-one students who participated in the 2024 High School Aerospace Scholars program were invited to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to participate in an on-site experience. NASA/James Blair…

Kansas Students to Hear from NASA Astronauts Aboard Station

August 16, 2024 NeRD

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson, both NASA astronauts, pose for a fun portrait as Dominick tests portable breathing gear aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module. (Credit: NASA) Students from Topeka, Kansas, will have the opportunity Wednesday, Aug. 21, to have NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson answer their prerecorded questions aboard the International Space Station. The 20-minute space-to-Earth call with students from Mose J. Whitson Elementary, Most Pure Heart Catholic School, and Aviation Explorers Post 8, will stream live at 10:30…

Perseverance Pays Off for Student Challenge Winners

August 14, 2024 NeRD

Radioisotope Power Systems RPS Home About About RPS About the Program About Plutonium-238 Safety and Reliability For Mission Planners Contact Systems Overview Power Systems Thermal Systems Dynamic Radioisotope Power Missions Overview Timeline News Resources STEM Overview Power to Explore Contest Kid-Friendly Videos FAQ The winners of the 2024 Power to Explore Student Essay content (from left to right) Aadya Karthik, Raine Lin, and Thomas Liu. NASA/Rachel Zimmerman-Brachman As radioisotopes power the Perseverance rover to explore Mars, perseverance “powered” three winners to write essays each year till they achieved their mission…

Calling All Innovators: Apply for NASA’s 2025 Lunabotics Challenge

August 8, 2024 NeRD

A college team dressed in protective clean room suits prepares their robotic rover to compete in the final round of NASA’s annual Lunabotics competition on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Teams score points when their rover completes challenging tasks inside the Artemis Arena – a simulated lunar landscape inside The Astronauts Memorial Foundation’s Center for Space Education at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. NASA/Derrol Nail NASA invites teams from colleges, universities, as well as technical and vocational schools around the country to test their engineering skills in the 2025…

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…

NASA Engagement Platform Brings Experts to Classrooms, Communities

August 5, 2024 NeRD

NASA Technical Group Supervisor for Sequence Planning and Execution and Tactical Mission Lead for the Mars Perseverance rover, Diana Trujillo, speaks to students at Rolling Terrace Elementary School, Monday, March 13, 2023, in Takoma Park, Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) NASA/Aubrey Gemignani With a new school year on the horizon, NASA is introducing a platform to connect communities with agency experts to share their experiences working on agency missions and programs for the benefit of humanity. Continuing a long-standing tradition of connecting the public with science, technology, engineering, and math,…

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 Awards Support STEM Research at Minority Serving Institutions

July 1, 2024 NeRD

A photo of MPLAN principal investigator awardees from various minority-serving institutions at the 2023 NASA Better Together conference in San Jose, California. Credits: NASA NASA has selected 23 minority-serving institutions to receive $1.2 million to grow their research and technology capabilities, collaborate on research projects, and contribute to the agency’s missions for the benefit of humanity. Through NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Partnership Learning Annual Notification (MPLAN) award, selected institutions will receive up to $50,000 each for a six-month period to work directly on STEM projects with…