Student at ASTEROIDS Laboratory and NASA Undergraduate Research and Education Program
June - July 2023 • Tucson, AZ
What I liked
I greatly enjoyed this program and meeting passionate, hard-working individuals interested in space sciences. This program was my first experience in engineering where I learned about systems engineering, designed a well-functioning paper airplane, wrote code for a drone following specific instructions, and won first place with my group in an egg-lander competition against graduate students. I also gained insight into writing a proposal for NASA and the process of NASA missions following the NASA Decadal Strategy.
What I wish was different
Although I greatly enjoyed Dr. Thanga's lectures and expertise in systems engineering, I feel I would have benefited more from the program by hearing other perspectives and more of a scientific twist in planetary sciences.
Advice
This program is very time intensive which I feel was not stressed in the advertising. I spent over 25 hours a week on this program due to the fast, strict deadlines on group projects and the difficulty and quantity of homework. Additionally, this program would be most beneficial to undergraduates who want an overall understanding of creating a NASA mission, NASA budgeting, aerospace, systems, and other forms of engineering.
