A-B Tech student one of select few headed to Space Flight Center

October 19, 2012

A-B Tech Community College student Michael Rose has been chosen by NASA to travel to Marshall Space Flight Center Oct. 23-25 to participate in a three-day on-site event.

He was selected as one of 40 community and junior college students from across the nation to be part of the National Community College Aerospace Scholars project. Participants will apply what they have learned during the year to work with NASA engineers.

Rose, an Associate in Science student, was one of 180 students admitted as a National Community College Aerospace Scholar (NCAS) through the NASA program this summer. He competed for a spot in Huntsville through an application process and his scores from his online lessons over the summer, where he learned what it takes to plan a mission to Mars. 

Rose had an interest in science and space, so when his Math Instructor Tammy Sullivan told the class about the program, it grabbed his attention. “I am passionate about math and statistics. I enjoy reviewing issues that can be solved logically,” he said.

The program is a three-day on-site event at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and offers students from across the nation the opportunity to interact with each other as they learn more about careers in science and engineering. While at NASA, students form teams and establish fictional companies interested in Mars exploration. Each company is responsible for developing a prototype rover, designing a line drawing of the rover, and forming the company infrastructure including budget, communications, and presentations.

The on-site experience at NASA includes a tour of facilities and briefings by noted NASA employees.

National Community College Aerospace Scholars is a project based on Texas Community College Aerospace Scholars, originally created by the state of Texas in partnership with NASA and the Texas educational community.  Both projects are designed to encourage community and junior college students to enter careers in science and engineering and ultimately join the nation’s highly technical workforce.

With this project, NASA continues the agency’s investment in educational programs that attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, disciplines critical to NASA’s future missions.