The NASA Techrise program challenges students to design scientific experiments that could be conducted aboard a high-altitude balloon or a lunar lander rocket. Students submit a detailed project proposal that professionals from around the country evaluate before they select the top 60 projects to fund and test.
Our students (Kole Hayward, Tyler Matthews, Caden Romero, and Mason Celmer) designed an experiment to use visual imagery and LIDAR data to construct a 3D model of the terrain below the lunar lander. They now meet weekly with a NASA Techrise Engineering mentor and have been given a $1500 grant to build their experiment. The team now consists of 13 Aerospace Engineering students who will complete their design by the end of May. The launch will occur over the summer, and data will be returned to us in August.