Our Wildwood, Volume 47

GOOD TO KNOW Useful information about and for us

WISRD Soars to New Heights

The sky’s the limit for the Wildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development (WISRD). Recently, the institute was honored with the Judges’ Choice Award in NASA’s Student Launch competition. The NASA award recognized WISRD team members for entering the best combination of payload introduction, vehicle design and construction, research paper, and public engagement in the competition. NASA Student Launch challenges middle school, high school, college, and university teams from across the United States to build and fly a high-powered amateur rocket carrying a complex payload to over 4,000 feet above the ground. The competition draws teams from universities and high schools across the country. This year, WISRD’s work has taken several members to the Nevada desert where they are helping NASA with its Lucy Mission—the first space mission launched to study Trojan asteroids. The mission is named for the fossilized human ancestor (“Lucy”) whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity’s evolution. Likewise, the Lucy mission aims to revolutionize

our knowledge of planetary origins and the solar system. The WISRD group is sharing its own analysis, imaging, and collected data of one of Jupiter’s Trojans with NASA scientists and researchers as the Lucy spacecraft passes by on its mission.

RECENTLY, THE INSTITUTE WAS HONORED WITH THE JUDGES’ CHOICE AWARD IN NASA’S STUDENT LAUNCH COMPETITION.

6