2026 NASA Goddard Summer Research

Annie Flatt (CAS’27)

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the Planetary Environments Laboratory. My project involved the development of a sample pre-processing system for a future mission to Mars. When planetary exploration missions are being designed, scientists want to include several different tools to analyze the same samples using different methods. However, the spacecraft that are being designed also need to be as lightweight and compact as possible for launch- and each analytical tool comes with a separate pre-processing system, taking up valuable real estate in the system. My project envisioned that a future mission to Mars would want to analyze samples of “sediment-ice granular mixtures”…or ice of a similar form to a sno-cone with sediment mixed in. A Gas and Liquid Extraction Module (GLEM), as the system I was working on is called, should be capable of ingesting some of this sample and conducting phase separation, delivering it in solid, liquid, and gaseous forms as appropriate to each analytical instrument.

One of the unexpected parts of the research process for me was how many different simultaneous priorities there were in the development of the GLEM, and which one turned out to be the most difficult. Not only were there two different versions of the system at different stages of development to optimize and characterize, but I also had to create a procedure for preparing the samples that would be used to explore the GLEM’s capabilities. As it turned out, the hardest part of the project was…making clean ice. The process of trying to both grate ice into ‘sno-cone’ ice and also combine it with sediment meant that the ice too often was exposed to the atmosphere and melted much more quickly than a larger chunk of ice would have. Contamination of the GLEM system could affect results, so tools like sno-cone makers were off the table because of the presence of plastics. I didn’t expect the most difficult part of the project to be re-engineering a process to fit the constraints of spacecraft instrument development research that had already been formalized outside of the lab for other contexts, but it gave me a much clearer picture of what it takes to not only create an instrument or system ready for space flight, but also to prove that it’s ready.

However, one of my favorite parts about the process was the interdisciplinary background of the lab and team I was working with. Understanding planetary environments alone requires an understanding of geology, biology, and chemistry; building the tools and spacecraft that enable measurements to happen needs physicists and engineers. Every one of those disciplines was represented on the team, and each person had ended up with a personal cross-disciplinary background, as well as developed a niche of their own. There was always someone prepared to help me figure out a question, and each person had a unique perspective to offer. I really appreciated seeing how there wasn’t one singular path that a person needs to take to end up in the intersection of planetary environment research and spacecraft instrument development. This internship helped me gain a clearer picture of how I wanted to use my physics major after graduating, and what I had to do to make that happen. Having a project like this where I was able to experiment, define processes, and develop experiments was extremely rewarding, but it was also so much fun. I hope to do more work like it in the future!

Dev Patel (CAS’28)

I really enjoyed my time interning for NASA. When I first came to Georgetown, I knew I wanted to go to medical school and eventually pursue biochemical research. So interning at NASA did not cross my mind as an opportunity, let alone as something that made sense for me. However, through my experience, I learned so many incredible skills. The experience improved my lab techniques and introduced me to the ability to design and think about my experiment. I learned how to give a presentation and, more importantly, how to design one properly and effectively. On top of that, I learned the skill of writing proposals and designing research. There are so many relevant skills that I learned that I would have never thought I would from this experience.

This summer, I worked on a project that simulates future mission environments to provide more context and support for sample analysis on those missions. The project itself seems very simple and at times unrelated to anything important. However, over time I learned how much of these missions are built on the back of research projects like mine that do their best to give context for future missions. People look back on projects like these to help form their thoughts and designs when working on missions. Much of my work was tedious and long; however, it was extremely important and taught me a lot about planning and multitasking. Overall, I found the experience to be consistent with one of Georgetown’s core principles: care for the whole person. This internship, I felt, taught me not only academically and professionally but also as a person. Everyone was so supportive and always ready to engage in a conversation that felt more like colleague discourse than a mentor-intern lecture. No matter where you were, someone was always willing to help and provide advice, from research to general life. I think I left a better student, scientist, and person after this internship. The key takeaway, I think, was always to stay curious and pursue your passion.