Community College Scholars Selected to Design Rovers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Oct. 17, 2012

Ann Marie Trotta
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1601
ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov

Ciandra Jackson
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-2924
ciandra.t.jackson@nasa.gov


RELEASE: 12-365

COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARS SELECTED TO DESIGN ROVERS AT NASA'S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

WASHINGTON -- Forty community college students from across the United
States have been selected to travel to NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., to participate in the 2012 National
Community College Aerospace Scholars (CCAS) project. The three-day
event Oct. 23-25 will feature a rover-building experience.

The students, representing 18 states, will form fictional companies
pursuing Mars exploration. Each team will develop, design, and build
a prototype rover, then use their prototypes to navigate a course,
collect rocks and water, and return to a home base. The event
includes a tour of Marshall and briefings from agency scientists and
engineers.

"The CCAS program allows students to take what they have learned in
the classroom and augment it with realistic, hands-on experience,"
said Leland Melvin, associate administrator for education at NASA
Headquarters. "They will tackle some of the same challenges faced by
NASA scientists and engineers every day. By the end of their
experience, they will have developed valuable skills for future
high-tech careers."

The program is based on the Texas Aerospace Scholars project,
originally created in partnership with NASA and the Texas educational
community. NASA Aerospace Scholars programs are designed to encourage
students to consider careers in science and engineering and
eventually join the nation's technical workforce. Participants in the
national project were selected based on completion of interactive
web-based assignments throughout the school year.

For a complete list of the student participants, their states and the
community colleges they represent, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/nccas

For more information about NASA's education program, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov/education


-end-



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