NASA Inspiration Tour connects students with space research

NASA said its Inspiration Tour connected the public, industry and academia with people, technologies and organizations supporting American leadership in space. NASA Space Grant students took part in nearly every stop across the country, including Iowa, Arizona, Alaska and North Dakota.

At Iowa State University, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman toured the Make to Innovate program lab. Students from the Iowa Space Grant Consortium’s Mission Moon program and other consortium-funded groups shared research findings and demonstrated projects supported by NASA. NASA experts also briefed students on the agency’s Moon Base efforts at a town hall.

Iowa Space Grant director Sara Nelson said the visit showed how research and innovation in Iowa could advance Artemis and future NASA exploration efforts. At the University of Arizona, Isaacman saw research and engineering work enabled by the Arizona Space Grant Consortium, including satellite communications testing, optics, high-altitude balloon payloads and small satellites. He also answered questions from local high school and college students.

Ella Miller, a junior studying mechanical engineering at the University of Arizona, said Arizona Space Grant provided hands-on experience through an entire mission design process every semester. She said the experience helped her pursue a career in space research and secure internships in the field.

At the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Isaacman toured the Poker Flat Research Range and the Alaska Satellite Facility. During an Alaska Space Grant science fair, students presented research on hibernation biology and CubeSat technology. Students learned about the Moon Base program and asked about opportunities for the next generation of innovators and explorers.

In North Dakota, student fellows and NASA interns presented projects on supercell mergers using satellite imagery, geomagnetic conditions of aurora borealis and in-situ resource utilization. North Dakota Space Grant STEM ambassadors also shared robotics and drone activities connected with Mission Moon and Artemis initiatives. NASA said its Inspiration Tour would culminate in MAX POWER, a public showcase of air and space innovation on Nov. 7 and 8.