Study Abroad: Australian students launch into space internships with NASA

Five students from different Australian universities have been selected for a thrilling journey to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US. The journey is backed by the Australian Space Agency and CSIRO.

Five Australian university students are all set to jet off to California at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). They are getting an exciting opportunity to do a 10-week internship at NASA’s JPL in August.

The trip is part of Monash University’s National Indigenous Space Academy (NISA) which is supported by the Australian Space Agency and CSIRO.

At NASA’s JPL, they will get mentorship by top-tier engineers and scientists. They will get to contribute to some of the most exciting NASA space missions and will dive into groundbreaking projects.

Professor Chris Lawrence, Associate Dean (Indigenous) at Monash University’s Faculties of Engineering and IT, said, “These outstanding Indigenous STEM students will be involved in cutting-edge NASA/JPL projects, from ocean exploration vehicles to studying microorganisms on the International Space Station. Empowering our Indigenous youth to learn from the best in the world is phenomenal. We dream of NISA one day producing the world’s first Aboriginal astronaut.”

NASA internship details

The students who are selected for this internship program include - Gamilaroi man, Carl Goodwin, Monash University, Lunga Kija man, Jordan McGrath, Griffith University, Eastern Arrernte man, David Corporal, QUT, Palawa woman, Lucy Barr, University of Tasmania, and Tharawal woman, Renee Wootten, University of Sydney.

At the JPL, each intern will be paired with mentors to work on different projects and missions. One of the five people selected includes Gamilaroi man from Brisbane, Carl Goodwin, a Masters of Artificial Intelligence (AI) student at Monash University Faculty of Information Technology (FIT). Mr Goodwin will get opportunity to analyse spectral data captured by NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) mission.

“I am really excited to apply my AI and machine learning knowledge for research in the space sector. Apart from working with world-leading space scientists this is also a great opportunity for me to interact and work with other like-minded Indigenous people. Our People are underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, (STEM), and programs like NISA are providing valuable stepping stones for First Nations students in this sector,” Mr Goodwin said.

The selected students are getting ready for Monash’s ‘Space Boot Camp,’ before going to the US. The camp is an intensive program which will cover rovers, rockets astrophysics, aerodynamics, robotics, earth sciences, computer, planetary science, and engineering. The program will also dive into past and current space exploration missions of NASA’s JPL.

NISA introduces CSIRO as partner

NISA announced the introduction of the CSIRO as a new partner. CSIRO, through a newly established scholarship program, will support the empowerment and advancement of Indigenous STEM researchers.

Taylor Bamin, Gamilaraay woman and CSIRO’s Indigenous Talent Manager said, “These scholarships are an important step in supporting the work of the National Indigenous Space Academy and building a community of Indigenous STEM professionals who are global leaders in their fields. Being able to support Indigenous Australian university students to participate in this extraordinary program is one way we can champion STEM careers and drive innovation for the benefit of Australia.”

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