March 2, 2012

Ann Marie Trotta Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1601 ann marie trotta@nasa gov

Rachel Kraft Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 rachel h kraft@nasa gov

Priscilla Vega Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif 818-354-5011 priscilla r vega@jpl nasa gov

RELEASE: 12-069

COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARS SELECTED TO DESIGN ROBOTIC ROVERS

WASHINGTON -- Community college students will have the chance to design robotic rovers in cooperation with NASA Ninety-two students from schools in 24 states have been selected to travel to a NASA center to develop rovers through the National Community College Aerospace Scholars program The initiative provides hands-on opportunities to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines

Students will visit either NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif , from May 1-3, or NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston from May 9-11 The teams will establish fictional companies pursuing Mars exploration Each team will develop, design and build a prototype rover, then use their prototypes to navigate a course, collect rocks and water and return to a home base

"I am so proud of the Community College Aerospace Scholars program," said Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for education "Community colleges offer NASA a great pool of STEM talent critical to our scientific and exploration initiatives They also serve a large portion of our nation's minority students Engaging these underserved and underrepresented learners in STEM initiatives helps NASA build a more inclusive and diverse workforce for the future "

Participants were selected based on completion of interactive web-based assignments throughout the school year The on-site experience this spring includes a tour of NASA facilities and briefings from agency scientists and engineers

The program is based on the Texas Aerospace Scholars program, originally created in partnership with NASA and the Texas educational community Aerospace Scholars programs are designed to encourage students to enter careers in science and engineering and ultimately join the nation's technical workforce

For a complete list of the student participants, their states and the community colleges they represent, visit:

http://go nasa gov/nccas

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/education

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]