Center for Lunar Science and Exploration Announces 2018 Intern Class

News Archive

April 18, 2018

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration of the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and NASA Johnson Space Center is pleased to announce the 2018 class of Exploration Science Summer Interns. The internship program provides students with an opportunity to be involved in exploration science activities, thus effectively training a new generation of space exploration leaders.

This summer, students will be involved in activities that support missions to the Moon that utilize the Orion crew vehicle, the Deep Space Gateway, and robotic assets on the lunar surface.  It is a unique opportunity to integrate scientific input with exploration activities in a way that mission architects and spacecraft engineers can use.  Activities may involve assessments of landing sites and traverse plans for multiple destinations that are responsive to NASA objectives.

The Exploration Science Summer Intern Program builds on the success of the Lunar Exploration Summer Intern Program that was designed to evaluate possible landing sites on the Moon for robotic and human exploration missions. Over a five year period (2008–2012), teams of students worked with LPI science staff and their collaborators to produce A Global Lunar Landing Site Study to Provide the Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon. The program for 2018 is designed to have the same impact on future exploration activities.

The 10-week program runs May 29 through August 3, 2018. Applications were accepted from graduate students in geology, planetary science, planetary astronomy, and related topics.

Congratulations to the ten students chosen to participate in this summer’s program:

Samantha Bell (University of Manchester)
Valentin Bickel (Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research)
Ellen Czaplinski (University of Arkansas)
Elise Harrington (University of Western Ontario)
Casey Honniball (University of Hawaii)
Sabrina Martinez (Tulane University)
Hannah Sargeant (The Open University)
Gavin Tolometti (University of Western Ontario)
Benjamin Farrant (University of Manchester)
Alexander Rogaski (South Dakota School of Mines)

The Exploration Science Summer Intern Program is supported with funding from the LPI and the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute at NASA Ames Research Center.

For more information, visit:
Exploration Science Summer Intern Program