About the NASA
Artemis Program
The primary goal of NASA’s Artemis Program is to return humans to the Moon by 2025, including the first woman and first person of color. NASA will lead an innovative and sustainable exploration program with commercial and international partners to send humans farther into space than ever before and bring new knowledge and opportunities back to Earth.
Among the partners included in NASA’s Artemis Program is SpaceX, the aerospace company selected to build the Human Landing System (HLS) which will land astronauts on the Moon. The Starship Lunar Lander will be one of many variations of the Starship spacecraft being developed and launched at Boca Chica Beach (a.k.a. Starbase) in Brownsville, Texas.
STARS Community
Anchor Award
In 2021, we received the NASA Informal Education Community Anchor designation from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. Through the year long grant, STARS connected our community with extraordinary efforts happening at NASA and SpaceX to make the Artemis Mission a success.
With the help of our partners, STARS deployed NASA resources for the first time in a historically underserved community on the Texas-Mexico border with a limited staff of volunteers at the edge of a deadly pandemic. The project inspired and galvanized local teachers, librarians, public servants, and subject matter experts to our cause of crafting versatile and locally-relevant bilingual STEM program for curious minds of all ages.
Being local and attuned to the needs of communities we serve, STARS designed three distinct sets of activities for three different types of participants: K-6: Generation Artemis Camp; High school students: The SEES Summer Internships; and, the general public: To The Moon! event.
The SEES Internship Experience
“The NASA SEES Internship changed the way I see my path to becoming a scientist. I no longer feel alone. Having a support system of mentors that helped me thrive both at STARS and NASA keeps me inspired and energized, ready to face the challenges ahead. “
Jaqueline Pena
2022 SEES Scholarship Recipient
2023 Pace High School Graduate / Freshman at Stanford University, CA
NASA & SEES Partnership
Through a partnership with the Texas Space Grant Consortium and the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin, seventeen high school students from the Rio Grande Valley became NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) interns during the summer of 2022. These students had the opportunity to work directly with NASA subject matter experts and former astronauts on projects related to the Artemis Program and tour NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) internship program is available every summer for high school students in 10th and 11th grade. If you are interested in becoming a SEES intern, click on the link below to visit the SEES homepage and apply. If you need any assistance with your application or would like to connect with previous interns, send us an email at contact@starsocietyrgv.org and let us know!
During the SEES 2022 intern program, the Artemis Team developed the design for a future Artemis mission – Artemis VI – and its scientific objectives. Click on the video to watch the Artemis Team’s final presentation featured in the SEES Science Symposium!
NASA SEES 2022 Recipients
The Artemis Team holding their certificates of completion for the 2022 NASA SEES internship
Michelle Alcala / Starfika Bauskar / Eric Cardenas / Sebastian Centeno / Ignacio Duran / Alan Garcia / Isaac Kunt / Diego Loa / Carlos Ocasio / Jaqueline Pena / Diego Pruneda / Michael Ramirez / Christopher Reynolds / Abigail Rodriguez / Daniel Trujillo / Addyson Vega / Karla Zambrano
About the 2022 Summer Camp
We are living in an exciting time of human exploration. For the first time since 1972, NASA is sending humans to the Moon with the mission: Artemis!
Unlike the Apollo era, Artemis astronauts will work to establish permanent bases on the Moon – using the knowledge and experience we gain there to pave the way for the human exploration of Mars!
The Artemis Program relies on the powerful Space Launch System (or SLS) and the Orion spacecraft, which will transport astronauts to the Deep Space Gateway in lunar orbit. The astronauts will then transfer from this lunar outpost to the Human Landing Systems (or HLS), which will then deliver them to the lunar surface.
The South Texas Astronomical Society teamed up with NASA for “Generation Artemis.” Our goal is to connect the Rio Grande Valley community with this incredible endeavor carried out by NASA and their partners, like Blue Origin and SpaceX.
In the summer of 2022, STARS hosted a series of Artemis Summer Camps, where students learned about each component of the mission through hands-on STEM activities. And now, you’ll have the chance to do those activities with your explorers as well!
Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery with Generation Artemis. Let’s ignite the spark of curiosity and explore the future of space exploration together!
Videos of the activities...
Videos de la actividad...
A Big Thank You to Our Partners:
