Laurel Highlands student sets sights on space
In the photo above, Erika Gesso, a senior at Laurel Highlands High School, tries on a glove from a space suit while participating in NASA’s WISH program this summer. Gesso said the glove, which includes a tight-fitting inner glove as well, is difficult to maneuver. She learned that astronauts wear them for weeks before missions to get used to them. In the photo below, Larisa Brown (left) from the state of Washington and Gesso research mission cost estimates while preparing the budget for their mock mission to Mars at Johnson Space Center.
One evening’s activity at NASA’s WISH program involved building a model Mars rover, then using it to pick up rocks from a simulated Martian surface and bring them back through an obstacle course. Laurel Highlands senior Erika Gesso said that even though robotics isn’t her area of strength, her team still came in first.
Gesso
Larisa Brown (left), from the state of Washington and Laurel Highlands senior Erika Gesso research mission cost estimates while preparing the budget for their mock mission to Mars while participating in the WISH program at Johnson Space Center this summer.
Weeks before the Mars rover Curiosity landed on the red planet this summer, a Laurel Highlands High School senior was planning the budget for a manned Mars mission, albeit a mock space journey.
Erika Gesso, 17, of South Union Township was one of 80 participants in NASA’s Women in Stem High School Aerospace Scholars project known as WISH.
“NASA wants you to become the engineers, scientists, researchers and innovators of tomorrow. The WISH project offers a one-of-a-kind experience for female high school students like you to jump start your future and explore the possibilities of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related major or career,” the program’s website states.
Gesso said she really enjoyed advanced placement chemistry her junior year at Laurel Highlands and thought she wanted to become a chemical engineer, but she hadn’t considered NASA. A family friend heard about WISH and suggested that she apply.
“I wasn’t really interested in space or anything before that, but I knew I’d be working with NASA engineers and I wanted to see if that was something I wanted to do,” Gesso said. “I totally loved it and want to be a NASA engineer some day. I’m definitely following through with engineering.”
The one-week summer program was the culmination of months of online learning activities and a process that narrowed the initial 300 to 400 applicants to the final 80 participants at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Gesso said there were participants from 28 states present at the site. Gesso said the online work began in March.
“There was an online portion I had to do before I even qualified to get in. March through June I submitted assignments every two weeks,” Gesso said. “I had to read a lot and do math problems and do drawings of the lunar capsule. I am not an art person, but I really didn’t do a bad job.”
The four months of work paid off, with an all-expenses paid five-day trip to the Johnson Space Center, where she worked as part of a team planning a manned Mars mission, then presented their proposal to top executives at NASA.
“That was pretty nerve-wracking, doing a presentation to all these officials who are so high up in NASA. Then we went to dinner with them. The woman I sat next to was second in command at NASA,” Gesso said.
The WISH participants also built a model Mars rover and got to meet astronauts and engineers and other NASA employees, including Gene Krantz, flight director for the Apollo space missions.
“I really liked listening to the speakers. They all stated in the same place I did, so I knew it was possible,” Gesso said. “After seeing all these astronauts and all their pictures, I would consider going into space.”
Gesso said the experience also has influenced her choice of colleges.
“I’ve narrowed it to Penn State’s main campus, Purdue, Duke or the University of Michigan. I just looked at the top engineering schools, plus the recommendations from the people at NASA. They said they recruit a lot from Purdue,” Gesso said.
The teen will remain in touch with her NASA mentor over the next year, keeping the woman posted on her academic and career choices. Gesso said the program has been a tremendous help to her in those decisions.
“Even if you don’t want to work at NASA, it teaches you crazy amounts of skills. It’s helpful even if you don’t go into space,” Gesso said.