Mahtomedi High School (MHS) students in the NASA High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program have been busy since September researching and designing projects to submit to NASA. Throughout this time, they have had regular meetings with their NASA engineer mentors to discuss their projects.
Our students recently showcased their projects at a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) held at Dunwoody College of Technology. Students from ten schools, educators, NASA engineers, and other stakeholders were a part of the PDR. MHS was represented by four teams led by advisor Bryan Farmer. They displayed their ideas for Cosmic Dust Collectors, Lunar Additive Manufacturing (3D printing), Lunar Landing Legs, and a Lunar Ejecting Robot.
The MHS teams presented their projects to experts during the PDR, detailing their design processes, technical challenges, and innovative solutions. Each presentation reflected the rigorous engineering principles and methodologies taught throughout the HUNCH program. The students answered questions from the experts and received constructive feedback to encourage further refinement of their designs. Students were also able to participate in a networking event where participants shared ideas, made connections, and inspired one another, reinforcing NASA's mission to engage and empower the next generation of innovators.
The teams are now working to prepare for the Critical Design Review at the end of February. A strong performance by our teams there could lead to an opportunity to share their projects with NASA experts at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas!