SEES 2026 PROJECT THEMES

Subject to Change – Updated December 12, 2025

EARTH AND SPACE RESEARCH

Astronaut Photography: Observing Earth from Space 
NASA monitors our dynamic Earth using a variety of assets, from Earth-orbiting satellites to astronaut photography taken by crew on the International Space Station. Awareness of the fragility and beauty of Earth is important for people all over the world. This project will have interns working with astronaut photography of Earth and NASA data to gain experience with research, analysis, and communication. The plan is to have interns work together on a project to observe change over time in astronaut photographs and use NASA datasets to support their observations. Be ready to do research, enhance your geography knowledge, learn about landforms and features on Earth, gain skills with communicating information effectively to others, and more!

Astronomy – Surveying the Universe
Our Earth is just a small part of the whole Universe. In addition to learning about the scale of the Universe the students and reviewing some important astronomy tools, the students will be working with real data. Options are astronomy research through Citizen Science projects such as Searching for Extreme Galaxies, or Seeking Pulsars based on their radio emission. With these projects students will be helping astronomers process the vast amount of available data and make conclusions about the frequency of different object types, star formation, and galaxies. Another research option is going back to the basics and learning how to process data taken at the UT McDonald Observatory to determine a stellar cluster’s age.

Planetary Geology
The Planetary Geology strand will focus on looking at geologic processes on Earth and comparing them to known and possible activity on other planets. We will explore surface processes that are indicative of weathering and erosion and compare Earth’s surface to the surface of other celestial bodies to look for similarities. We will learn about internal processes of Earth that drive plate tectonics and are responsible for Earth’s volcanoes, earthquakes and mountains and look for evidence of these processes on other planets and celestial objects. Significance will be given to case study evidence from Mars regarding marsquakes.

Students in this strand will have the opportunity to explore asteroids and meteorites* and will in particular consider the groundbreaking results from the OSIRIS-REx mission as well as make predictions about what is yet to be discovered through the Psyche mission.

TECHNOLOGY

Remote Sensing – Explore the Use of Imaging Radar to Observe the Changing Earth 
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is a remote sensing technique for mapping deformation from imaging radar satellites. This method utilizes two radar images taken from different times but similar flight path positions to form an interferogram. Tracking surface movement in this manner is crucial to earth science studies, because InSAR can cover large areas of the surface of the earth rather than individual points. Students will process data to investigate its usefulness for formations and events that cannot be accessed directly from the surface due to geological hazards or lack of resources.

Weighing Where the Water Goes 
Interns will analyze data from GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) and GRACE-FO, twin satellites that are making detailed measurements of Earth’s gravity field changes and revolutionizing investigations about Earth’s water resources over land, ice, and oceans, as well as earthquakes and crustal deformations. These discoveries are having far-reaching benefits to society and the world’s population.

ENGINEERING

Engineer Beyond Your World
This internship will look at current NASA missions throughout the Solar System and ask, “Where should we explore next? Why? And How?” As a team you will search our galactic neighborhood for places of interest, research the latest technologies combined with geological resources and features and develop the next mission for NASA including prototyping proposed tech. Expectations for this project include teamwork, weekly meetings with work between beginning mid-May until working together in-person at SEES. Members of the team will follow the Engineering Design Process on the path to creating and presenting NASA’s next great journey into the Solar System.

Planetary Glider Project 
For this project, SEES interns will design a remote-controlled glider with an airframe that can fold up and fit inside a rocket. The work may include coding with Arduino or Raspberry Pi, building and testing electronics, setting up RF communication, and applying the physics of glider flight such as lift, drag, stability, and the use of control surfaces. Students may also choose to use 3D CAD modeling and printing. Teams can add sensors or cameras and develop their design into a mission concept for exploring Mars or Venus.

In-space Refueling: It’s All About the Bubbles
Students will help NASA develop concepts for refueling spacecraft in orbit or in deep space. In microgravity, liquid propellant clings to the surfaces of containment vessels leaving an “ullage” bubble floating somewhere in the tank. Without gravity, there is no buoyant force on the bubble, but we must move the bubble to the vent port of the tank prior to refueling the spacecraft. How can you move a bubble without using external forces like gravity? We will explore different approaches, including ultrasound and magnetic forces. We will use a combination of experiment, computer modeling, and literature review.

The X-59: Lowering the Sonic Boom
NASA’s QueSST (Quiet SuperSonic Technology) focuses on reducing sonic booms from supersonic aircraft to make faster-than-sound flight over land feasible. The X-59, an experimental aircraft, demonstrates how a quiet sonic “thump” replaces the loud boom. TXSESS interns contribute to QueSST by studying sonic boom science, the X-59’s design and sound propagation, and testing microphone hardware for capturing its acoustic signature. Interns help identify technical needs for future flyover missions and collect preliminary field data, working under the guidance of NASA aerospace experts.

MISSION DESIGN

Aerospace Engineering – TASR 
In this project, students will develop a small engineering payload to be deployed on a high-altitude balloon. Students will work with mentors to develop the payload, along with the supporting electronics and systems required to conduct a simple test with a given sensor. Students will develop the test hypothesis and experiment design, assist with assembly of the payload, and its deployment. Upon recovering the payload, students will analyze the data and generate results in support of (or in contradiction of) the test hypothesis. This includes generating a final write-up and/or presentation communicating the hypothesis, the test procedures, data analysis, and conclusions.

Human Research Fellowship (HRF) 
The Human Research Fellowship will take an in-depth look at NASA’s Human Research Program. Learning about the skills and traits it takes to work with NASA, looking at current research aboard the ISS, hearing first hand experiences from NASA human test subjects, participating in mock informed consent briefings and hands-on activities similar to authentic NASA experiments are what participants can expect during this internship. The capstone project will be the team researching and developing a hypothetical complement of human research experiments for Artemis III.

Mars Rover Resource Utilization 
Interns will design a rover mission to explore in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on Mars. Key goals include Studying Mars Habitability, Seeking Signs of Past Microbial Life, Collecting and Caching Samples, and Preparing for Future Human Missions. Interns will select a landing site for a hypothetical rover mission, decide on an instrument payload for their rover, determine regions of interest for the rover to investigate, and plot a traverse for their rover using remote sensing data of their chosen landing site.

Moon and Moon-2-Mars Habitat & Science 
This is a professional experience project, and we are going to act as though we are funded to design a lunar habitat, that would act as a lunar research base, with inputs into Mars research down the road for dual use, Moon-to-Mars technology road mapping. In this effort, you have to learn to lead your own sub-section, as well as be a teammate in other people’s section to help them out. Weekly reports are expected for tracking progress. We (you) will arrange speakers, develop Q/A needed from the speakers to fill out your subsections, along with coordinating tasks needed to research with literature justification for your project sub-sections to make a viable case study from which you develop a final report, and presentation product for the NASA SEES community conference and presentation.

VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP 

Architecting AI for Human Space Travel
This study is looking at current and suspected problems in AI development and some options, including for deep space travel. The study rests on a premise that the structure of biological lifeforms, most older than the human animal- how these structures store data, problem solve, create complex structures could be very important in how the modern dominant culture creates AI. The study is looking at how can AI, complex structural systems, be created for a particular need in following the playbook of a biological life form. And how does this proven approach impact a biological life form using it. For example, in Tokyo – https://youtu.be/RVe94qa1ar4?si=f6f7V-UsxNS-wHRE

Air Quality Initiative Group – GLOBE Mission EARTH 
Are you interested in learning about the science of air quality? In the Air Quality Initiative (AQI) group, you will have the opportunity to conduct scientific research on air quality and related topics. This group will be hosted by the GLOBE Mission EARTH Team and NASA Langley Research Center. You will gain hands-on experience in collecting, analyzing, and visualizing aerosols and other data related to air quality. To map and analyze data, you can use tools like ArcGIS Online. One example of a small sensor website is PurpleAir (https://map.purpleair.com/), from where you can collect real-time aerosol data. Additionally, you will receive GLOBE e-training that enables you to collect and submit data to GLOBE (https://www.globe.gov/) following scientific protocols. This data will then be shared on GLOBE’s Visualization System, a cloud-based Geographic Information System (GIS) for citizen science data. You can choose research project topics based on your interests, within the science of air quality.

Astronomy – Age and Distance to an Open Cluster
Students will determine the age and distance to an open cluster of stars. Open clusters are groups of stars that are thought to have formed (approximately) at the same time and are the same distance from Earth. The group of stars is roughly the same chemical composition as well. Students will use astronomy software to analyze the data collected and calculate the member stars’ magnitudes. Stars will be classified by spectral type and age can be determined. From this information, the approximate distance of the cluster can also be determined.

Exoplanet Transits – Detecting Planets Around Other Stars 
An exoplanet, or extra-solar planet, is just what it sounds like—a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun. Why search for them? The ultimate goal is to find a world similar to earth with the possibility that it might contain life. Additionally, studying worlds around other stars gives us clues to how our own solar system might have formed.

There are two primary methods by which exoplanets are initially discovered—the transit method, where an exoplanet crosses that face of its parent star as seen from the earth, causing the star’s brightness to drop slightly, and the radial velocity method, where the orbiting exoplanet tugs on its parent star, causing it to “wobble” a little as the exoplanet orbits it. There are additional methods of exoplanet detection, but these two are the most common, with the transit method being the way that most exoplanets are currently detected. Large planets orbiting close to their parent stars are the easiest to detect and will be the focus of this study. Two NASA spacecraft, TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)—still active and Kepler—no longer functioning, are responsible for many of the candidate exoplanet detections, but follow-up work is not their primary mission—that is the job of ground-based instruments.

For the project, students will observe several stars that have an orbiting exoplanet or an exoplanet candidate, using hundreds of images, taken over the course of one or more nights. The images may be taken at one of several wavelengths of light. The students will then use photometry software and attempt to detect the presence of the exoplanet. If it appears that there was a successful detection, then more powerful software will be brought into use and an attempt made to determine the actual size and mid-transit times of the exoplanet. Accurate mid-transit times are vitally important for scheduling follow-up observations using large ground-based telescopes. Positive detections produced by this project will be submitted to the NASA Exoplanet Archive, the primary repository of exoplanet data, so they can be used by other researchers.

Urban Heat Island Study – GLOBE Mission EARTH 
In recent years, Earth has experience increasingly record-high temperatures. Increases in land surface temperature (LST) can have negative impacts on wildlife, our land and water resources, and on human health and economic activity. In particular, urban areas are prone to increased LST, due to their extensive use of impermeable surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, and their lack of vegetation. The tendency for these areas to be hotter than their surrounding rural areas is known as the “Urban Heat Island Effect”.

You can study this phenomenon and add to NASA scientists’ knowledge of the topic, from your own backyard! By joining the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE) Study Group, you will receive instrumentation to collect data from your immediate environment on Surface Temperature, Air Temperature and Clouds. You will then share this data with the group (and the world) by uploading it to The GLOBE Program’s Visualization System, a cloud-based Geographic Information System (GIS) of citizen science data. The GLOBE Program has a long history of engaging students and citizen scientists in the study of LST in their areas, and you will become part of this worldwide community! You will utilize your data to conduct your own research project and present it to the group and the SEES program.

The SEES High School Summer Intern Program is funded through NASA Cooperative Agreement Notice NNH15ZDA004C and is a part of NASA’s Science Activation program. For more information, go to: https://science.nasa.gov/learners