Latest news with #TeamSelene
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
MSU Texas team chosen to compete in NASA challenge
A team of students from Midwestern State University was one of 10 university groups chosen to compete in an elite competition hosted by NASA, according to an MSU Texas media release. The Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students — NASA SUITS — is a design challenge in which college students nationwide help design user interface solutions for future spaceflight needs. The MSU Texas team, Team Selene, submitted a project proposal to NASA to develop and test an interface for a space suit and an interface for the lunar rover. The announcement was made by NASA with a video. Students held a watch party and were excited to hear Team Selene announced along with teams from Columbia, Purdue, Indiana State, Brown and Rice universities, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas at Austin. Team Selene members include Zachary Barrentine, Rykir Evans, Zachary Lewis, Kerry Manolagas, Ryan Mathews, Mierhamza Sly Rahimi, Adrian Robledo and Jack Tsui. Robledo is the team leader. Kyle Garcia, Jarett Green, Victoria Heredia, Carlos Polanco and Ethan Saenz are alternates. 'It's truly surreal and an incredible honor to have been selected among so many universities,' Robledo said in the media release. 'Knowing that we're going up against such big schools is both exciting and intimidating, but it also fuels our determination. I feel proud to represent our institution on this stage, and I can't wait to rise to the challenge.' The MSU Texas team is paired with Team Space from the University of California, Irvine. Faculty adviser Tina Johnson, professor of computer science, said that UC Irvine will work on the spacesuit display, and Team Selene will work on the rover interface. 'The students will work on the project throughout the spring semester and then travel to Johnson Space Center in Houston May 18-22 for testing," Johnson said in the media release. Testing for the lunar mission will be at night at the Johnson Space Center rock yard to simulate the low lighting levels at the lunar south pole. The team received an intramural grant through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research at MSU Texas to fund equipment purchases and the travel to NASA in May. 'The Department of Computer Science is proud to be represented by Team Selene in the NASA SUITS challenge. Given the importance of the project, it should be something to celebrate as these types of accomplishments set MSU Texas apart from other small colleges," Johnson said. "This remarkable achievement highlights not only the talent and hard work of our students but also the strength of our university's STEM programs," she said. "Despite being a smaller institution, our team's success in this competitive challenge emphasizes that size does not define impact — passion and dedication do.' NASA's Artemis missions seek to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon and build a sustained human presence on the moon and ultimately, Mars. This is the eighth year of the SUITS program. More: Former Wichita Falls city manager lands new job More: Wichita Falls fire chief among those leaving city's staff This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: MSU Texas team chosen to compete in NASA challenge
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
MSU students beat out schools across country to help future NASA missions
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A group of 13 MSU students have been selected to help NASA design interface solutions as they seek to colonize the moon with the Artemis Missions. Along with just nine other schools, including Columbia, Purdue and Rice, MSU Computer Science's Team Selene beat out universities across the nation for a spot in the NASA SUITS challenge. City of Wichita Falls extends ambulance services with American Medical Response Things are taking off for the group led by junior Adrian Robledo. 'We'll focus more on 'Mission Control,' where we get telemetry from the EVA participants, and then we try to help track, keep track of resources,' Robledo said. Midwestern State is one of five schools helping NASA develop software on a lunar pressurized rover as five other schools create a heads-up display through augmented reality, according to senior Kerry Rahimi. I was thinking, 'We're going to make Wally,' and it's definitely not that,' Rahimi said. 'So these rovers are actually massive, and people can actually live inside of them for a little bit. [It] can drive itself, and we'll have a user interface to let whoever is inside know, 'Hey, how much oxygen do you have?'' It's a large-scale project that takes ample research, Rahimi said. 'Some of us are working on the navigation of the rover, and some of us are working on the graphical interface,' Rahimi said. 'Our groups have been doing a lot of research in terms of what technologies we should use.' The yearly NASA initiative was daunting at first, but for seniors Jarrett Green and Ethan Saenz, it's already proven valuable to their future careers. 'It is very intimidating, but through joining the team and seeing how dedicated people [are] and stuff, that kind of pressure kind of slowly whittles away,' Green said. 'It definitely turns heads,' Saenz said. 'I've had, personally, people reach out to me for doing specific presentations on the kind of work that I'll be doing.' And as they code NASA-grade software… 'We're not UT; we're not Columbia, Harvard,' Saenz said. 'But we still can compete with those guys.' …Their next stop is the Johnson Space Center. Team Selene will head to Houston in May, where all 10 teams will present their projects. If NASA likes theirs, their work could be implemented into future lunar exploration missions. According to MSU officials, Team Selene members include Zachary Barrentine, Rykir Evans, Zachary Lewis, Kerry Manolagas, Ryan Mathews, Mierhamza Sly Rahimi, Adrian Robledo, Jack Tsui, Kyle Garcia, Jarett Green, Victoria Heredia, Carlos Polanco, and Ethan Saenz. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
