On Friday, three students who won the NASA STEM Power to Explore Student Challenge had the chance to see what it was like to be an engineer as they visited the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.
The students, Luca Pollack, the K-4th grade winner; Rainelle Yasa, the 5-8th grade winner and Audrielle Paige Esma, the 9-12th grade winner, had the chance to meet the people behind NASA's missions and see what technology the agency utilizes as it plans a return to the Moon and a trip to Mars.
The students were the three top finalists in an essay contest held nationwide. The topic of the essay was the use of Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS), which is a type of nuclear battery that the space agency uses in exploration missions. Specifically, students were asked to "write about, in 200 words or less, a RPS-powered space mission that would energize their space exploration dreams."
- CLICK HERE to read Luca's essay.
- CLICK HERE to read Rainelle's essay.
- CLICK HERE to read Audrielle's essay.
While at Glenn Research Center, the three toured NASA's zero-gravity facility, the Slope Lab, learned about electric propulsion and Nuclear power and were shown the Glenn Visualization Lab.
NASA will hold another Power to Explore challenge in the fall.
To read more of News 5's coverage of the NASA Glenn Research Center, CLICK HERE.
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