VINEMONT – Two teams of Vinemont High School students took part in the InSPIRESS project in Huntsville in December. Both teams, Team M.A.R.E. and Team A.T.T.A.C.K., were named Overall Winners in their divisions on Dec. 11 at the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) after presenting their designs to engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center.
InSPIRESS, the Innovative System Project for the Increased Recruitment of Emerging STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Students, is an outreach project that provides the opportunity for high school students to develop and design a scientific payload to be accommodated on a spacecraft which is designed by undergraduate students from UAH. InSPIRESS teams compete for selection by the undergraduate engineering teams.
Students are given a topic by representatives from UAH, which must be researched and designed. Students then present resolutions to NASA officials and receive practice and application experience while researching real-life problems and answers related to features in outer space.
This year’s project was to design a payload that would travel to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Teams had to design the payload to withstand Titan’s harsh conditions. The payload had to deploy from the UAH spacecraft by a high altitude balloon, test the atmospheric conditions, travel from Lake Kraken Mare over Titan’s surface and deploy a penetrator to measure surface conditions. Students had to research, complete all math calculations and design the payload. They built a prototype and also used the Solid Edge software to design their payload.
The project had four components. First, teams had to complete community service projects. At these events, participants are asked to complete surveys. Each team had to meet a 500 survey minimum. Second, the teams had to write a payload proposal detailing the mission and how they would solve the problems presented to them from UAH. Third, teams presented their community service and design accomplishments in an Open House Poster Session. The last component was the Final Review, where teams had to present their designs to engineers and attempt to convince them that their designs were the best.
The project taught students teamwork, engineering, technology, physics, chemistry, math and public speaking skills.
Team M.A.R.E received First Place Payload Proposal, First Place Open House Poster Session, and Overall Winner in their division.
M.A.R.E. Team Members
Project Manager- Savanna Terry
Chief Engineer- Kristian Miasek
Design Lead- Jazzlynn Baker
Design Team- Jonathan Brown
CEA Lead- Brittany Arrington
CEA Team- Cody Carter
Team A.T.T.A.C.K. received First Place Open House Poster Session, First Place Final Review and Overall Winner in their division.
A.T.T.A.C.K Team Members
Project Manager- Hunter Green
Chief Engineer- Kara Smith
Design Lead- Katie Barsell
Design Team- Chance Taylor
CEA Lead- Anna Marie Harrison
CEA Team- Lauren Persall
Two members from each team and their sponsor, Shannon Bridges, will travel to Washington D.C. this summer to present their payload design at NASA headquarters.
