NASA Space Grant students join Inspiration Tour stops in Iowa, Arizona and Alaska

First reported 04 Nov, 16:16 UTCSource: NASA News ReleasesLast editorial activity 04 Nov, 16:16 UTCWrite a comment ↓

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NASA's Inspiration Tour has put students from the agency's Space Grant network in front of audiences at its stops, according to the agency's own release. The tour is designed to bring the public, industry and academia together with the people and technologies behind American leadership in space.

Iowa stop showcases student research

At Iowa State University, Administrator Jared Isaacman addressed a standing-room-only crowd and toured the Make to Innovate program lab. Students from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium's Mission Moon program, along with student organizations funded by the consortium, including Cardinal Space Mining, CySat and CyLaunch, presented their research findings.

A well-attended town hall followed, at which NASA experts briefed students on the agency's Moon Base efforts and on how their own work could feed into future exploration. The agency said the excitement among students was considerable and that research in Iowa could help advance Artemis and NASA's future exploration efforts.

Arizona and Alaska visits

At the University of Arizona, the administrator observed the space research and engineering capabilities enabled by the Arizona Space Grant Consortium, from satellite communications testing and deep-space optics to student-built high-altitude balloon payloads and small satellites. The visit included a question-and-answer session with local high school and college students.

At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Isaacman toured two facilities of the Geophysical Institute: the Poker Flat Research Range, the university's scientific rocket launching site, and the Alaska Satellite Facility. At an Alaska Space Grant science fair, students shared research in hibernation biology and showed advances in CubeSat technology.

Open questions

How many students took part at each stop?

Key facts

Students from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium's Mission Moon program and consortium-funded groups shared research at the tour.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman toured the Make to Innovate lab at Iowa State University.

At the University of Arizona, he saw research enabled by the Arizona Space Grant Consortium.

At the University of Alaska Fairbanks, he toured the Poker Flat Research Range and the Alaska Satellite Facility.