Students compete at Stennis

It was an out of this world experience at Stennis this week for 42 college students. Each was chosen to come learn what it’s like to be a NASA scientist including building a small scale Mars rover.

It wasn’t the surface of Mars, but it was close as community college students got a taste of what it’s like to work on a different planet by building small scale Mars rovers and then competing against each other, all for a fictional contract with NASA. East Mississippi Community College sophomore Ryan Etheridge said, “My face hurts so much from smiling. This has been a lot of fun. It definitely changed my decisions for life, too, about what I want to do with my major and this is amazing for people.”

This is all part of NASA’s Community college Aerospace Scholar’s program and for students attending the preparations started all the way back in February. NCAS Lead Mitch Krell said, “The students go through an extensive five week online program and then go through these online modules and they take tests. They take tests. They do a final project and then the ones who have done the most outstanding job on those get invited to an onsite visit which is this workshop.”

NCAS is happening at all ten NASA locations across the United States this summer. At Stennis, it’s not just for locals. Over 32 colleges from 13 different states are represented including Stephanie Popielerz who traveled from Chicago and tells News 25 this experience has changed her. “It just kind of opens up my world to different stuff I haven’t seen before, like outside my community college and like we saw a test engine today which was so cool.”

Whether it’s building a small scale rover or watching a rocket engine test, these students take back lifetime memories that they’ll never forget.