Borger AC student competes in NASA NCAS virtual experience

An Amarillo College student was selected to participate in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) Virtual Experience and awaits news to know if he has progressed in the program.

Christopher Cox, from Borger, attended the NCAS Mission 2: Exploration Simulation April 17-24. While a part of the virtual experience, Cox was placed in an alphabetically organized group of nine members selected to complete the simulation.

"I encourage everyone who is even slightly interested to take a shot at it," Cox said. "There are many opportunities at NASA, and this is a great way to reach some of those opportunities."

Cox said he was selected to participate in the simulation, the second part of the competition, after completing part one, which was a five-week online NCAS course. Cox was one out of hundreds of community college students who applied from across the nation to participate in the simulation. Out of these applicants, several teams of around 10 students were chosen for the simulation.

As stated in a news release, the selected community college students learned more about NASA’s missions and careers in science and engineering throughout the virtual experience. The students formed teams and designed a mission to explore the moon or Mars. Each student team joins a design team, fulfills a team role, manages a budget, and develops communication and outreach strategies. Students also attend events hosted by NASA subject matter experts, receive information on how to apply for NASA internships, and virtually tour NASA’s unique facilities during the event.

Cox said that as a part of his team, he was the project manager, mission schedule analyst, and creative design specialist.

"We had the option to choose either the moon or Mars, and we choose the moon, because that will be the Artemis III mission. Our mission was to text test viability and adaptability to space, building a base and all that good stuff. We mitigated hazards after testing our hazard analysis, determined the radiation and more," Cox said.

The college student said that while a part of the simulation, his team faced difficulties early on concerning the budget for the simulated mission and were able to overcome them as a group.

"We were given a budget and are given opportunities to earn more throughout the simulation, but at one point, we weren't sure if we were going to make it, because we had actually lost $8 million of our budget, which was something we as a group had to come together and work around," Cox said.

Cox said that this experience allowed him to network and meet many NASA employees and specialists, as well as learn a variety of differing NASA subject matters, which he plans to utilize to further his career as he earns his degree in becoming a general engineer.

"Typically because general engineers do work as project managers in any of the respective fields that they are assigned to, this really allowed me to get a hands-on feel for my future career field. ... Overall, this was just a great opportunity to learn from NASA specialists and make a connection with them and make an impression as I pursue a career with either NASA or their partners," Cox said.

The Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP, funds NCAS. MUREP commits to engaging underrepresented and underserved students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) with authentic learning experiences to sustain a diverse workforce. With this activity, NASA continues the tradition of engaging the nation in its mission of human exploration and sustainable expansion across the solar system and bringing new knowledge and opportunities back to Earth.

Torry Johnson, former MUREP manager, stated in a news release: “NCAS inspires community college students to advance in STEM fields, and it also opens doors for future careers at NASA. NCAS alumni can often move on to NASA internships and possibly ultimately enter the NASA workforce. It is rewarding to see the progression of a student from NCAS participant to NASA colleague.”

According to NCAS guidelines, a student is only allowed to participate in the experience once. Cox said that now that the simulation is complete, he awaits the results to notify him if he and his team will progress into the next round of NCAS within the upcoming weeks.

To learn more about MUREP, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/minority-university-research-education-project/ .

For more information about NCAS, visit them online at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-community-college-aerospace-scholars/ .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Borger AC student competes in NASA NCAS virtual experience