Columbia Space Initiative
Member RASC-AL Mars Mission architecture
Planning humankind's mission in space
At Columbia, I was given the opportunity to assist ex-NASA astronaut & Professor Michael Massimino in his course "Introduction to Human Space Flight". It was through his advice that I happened to join Columbia Space Initiative (CSI) - a group of students dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge in near-space, space, and beyond.
At CSI, I was part of the RASC-AL project which is a university-level competition sponsored by the National Institute of Aerospace and NASA to design mission architectures for future missions in space.
Our mission proposal “Path to Deimos” examined human missions to the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, that use hybrid chemical and solar-electric propulsion trajectories. As part of the team, I worked on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) within the space shuttle that involves Water Recovery System (WRS) and the Oxygen Generation System (OGS) using on site resources on the surface of the Martian moons.
Our mission proposal “Path to Deimos” was selected as one of twelve finalists to present at the annual RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida in June 2016!
This is incredibly exciting - especially being the first time ever for a team from Columbia to participate - and I couldn’t be prouder of what our entire team has accomplished.
A big thank you to former ISS astronaut and our project advisor Professor Mike Massimino for his invaluable support and guidance, and congratulations to all members of CSI for another job well done.
