NASA Invites Student Teams to Participate in Underwater Research

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Aug 26, 2015, 02:26 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA is offering undergraduate students an opportunity to work in the deep end of spacewalk training through the Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT) activity.

Micro-g NExT challenges students to design and build prototypes of spacewalking tools to be used by NASA astronauts for spacewalk training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The deadline for proposal submission is Oct. 26. Student selections will be announced in December. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and full-time undergraduate students enrolled in an accredited U.S. institution of higher learning (junior college, community college, or university) at the time the proposal is submitted.

Teams will be selected to participate in the experiential/hands-on learning portion and will travel to Houston to have their prototype tested in the simulated microgravity environment of the NBL— a 6.2 million gallon indoor pool where NASA astronauts perform complex training activities in advance of their assigned space missions.

Micro-g NExT is managed by Johnson's Office of Education with support from the agency's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The project encourages research and development in new technologies and engages students in real-world engineering and problem-solving concepts that may be needed on future exploration missions, including to an asteroid and Mars. The activity also supports the use of NASA's unique missions and facilities to engage and encourage students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers.

To learn more about Micro-g NExT, visit:

https://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov

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

http://www.nasa.gov/education

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SOURCE NASA