A group of South Plains College students recently had an experience that was out of this world.

These students are Community College Aerospace Scholars, a program for young engineers to learn about NASA and develop projects for its Mars program.

This program is funded by the state of Texas in partnership with NASA to encourage more students to enter careers in science and engineering.

“Our students represented us well down there at the Johnson Space Center in Houston,” said Dr. Phil Anderson, chairperson of the Math and Engineering Department at SPC.

The two-and-a-half-day event, which is only open to students from Texas community colleges, was full of guest speakers and lots of information.  The students were divided up into companies with other Texas students and had to design and build a mock prototype of a Mars landrover.

Students fro SPC who attended the program included Michael Dunn, Savannah Young, Jazmin Salazar, Sara Barker, and Kalli Harbin.

Others who were also in attendance were Jason Hill, Weston Hobdy, Joseph Clay Heinrich, Christopher Hyatt, and David de la Cruz.

“They were staying up all night in order to get the land rover done in time to present it to a panel of judges, who were employed there at the center,” said Anderson.

These judges took time out of their busy schedules at NASA to judge the projects.

“It was like a science fair for college students…times 10,” said Anderson.

Other than building the rover, the 300 students from around Texas toured the Johnson Space Center and listened to speakers from the center.  One of the workshops that they attended was headed by a woman who spoke about creating the “smart” buildings that Mars samples will be stored in.

“We do not know what kind of effects the things we bring back from Mars will have on Earth,” said Anderson.  “So, many precautions have to be taken to ensure the safety of our planet.”

In another workshop Anderson said, a man spoke about improving the design of spacesuits that the astronauts would wear on the surface of the red planet.  The suits that the administration has now are too rigid and lack the required mobility for exploring the planet.  This job is ideal for engineers looking to go into that kind of field, Anderson explained. 

The students who attended the program have already made contacts in the NASA industry, but the students from SPC are special.  They had already impressed NASA earlier in the year by helping conduct the downlink from the international space station.

“During one workshop, they began asking me questions about the downlink that we hosted,” said Anderson.  “I was very flattered to be asked about that in front of such a large audience.”

Also because of their involvement with the recent downlink, the SPC contingent got to see many other things that the general public does not get to see. 

“Our students are highly honored down there,” said Anderson.  “We have made a name for ourselves through engineering and science, much like we have in our music program.”

Through all of the programs that the students attended, they saw what NASA had planned for the next 30 years or so.  NASA also uses this program to recruit younger people into the industry.