Wow, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for college students everywhere.
In an unprecedented program, NASA has just announced that within the month it will be putting out a request for teams of students to propose plans for a research satellite to go into orbit around the moon.
Once the formal request is put out, students will have at least 90 days
to submit their proposals for a satellite with scientific instruments
that, although faculty and industry representatives can be involved,
are to be entirely designed and developed by students. It will be
called ASMO, for American Student Moon Orbiter.
In its announcement of the plan, NASA said that in this project, teams would learn directly from NASA mentors as part of a diverse, nationwide, higher education initiative that will enable students to "design, build, launch, operate and own a small spacecraft and its payload."
The students will get in-depth experience with satellite mission protocol and procedures, communications and project management. NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California and Glenn Research Center in Cleveland are leading the ASMO initiative.
"NASA is laying the foundation for a multi-generation exploration program that eventually will see humans settle our solar system," said Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden. "To sustain this vision, we need the next crop of scientists and engineers to engage their minds and get hands-on experience."
While NASA has never done a project quite like this before that
combines exploration and education and allows students to carry a
satellite project through from start to finish. It is loosely based on
similar programs like the USAF University NanoSat Program and the CalPoly CubeSat
Program, but this is the first time students will get a chance to send
a satellite far beyond Earth's orbit, all the way to the moon.
More information on NASA's ASMO plan is available on the project's website. NASA says this is "a new form of a NASA-supported participatory education," and it seems like a brilliant idea and a great opportunity.
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