Virginia students design a mission to Mars

Hampton, Virginia – More than 175 rising high school seniors from across Virginia will spend a week at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton this summer planning a simulated mission to Mars.

 

They are part of the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) academy, sponsored by NASA Langley in partnership with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. VASTS will hold three sessions: June 23-27, July 7-11 and July 21-25.

 

To prepare for their week at NASA Langley, students spent six months participating in a distance-learning program on aerospace exploration. Scholars will use what they learned online to design and implement plans for a human mission to Mars, with the help of NASA Langley rocket scientists and mentors, teachers, and undergraduate interns. They will work on five teams: mission integration, mission transit, human factors, science and surface operations, and strategic communications. Just as in real NASA planning, each team plays a vital role in mission success.

 

Entering its seventh year, VASTS is a competitive program that uses space exploration to help teach high school juniors a broad range of mathematics, science, engineering and technology skills.