TEAM
TECAA
MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM
NASA SPACE APPS CHALLENGE
Once upon a time...
ROSA'S STORY
There was a teenage girl named, Rosa Tiffilyn Amgler Huang. She had the typical “Asian parents” who were very demanding on her grades. Born in a conservative environment, Rosa’s parents had always been unhappy about her gender, and they would talk on and on about how much they wished Rosa was a boy. Being the only Asian in her grade, students always glance at Rosa oddly. For some kids, it might just be pure curiosity, but for others, Rosa became their target. Oftentimes, the kids would “joke” about her race, and having the stereotype of Asians being smart, they would make fun of Rosa when she did not do so well on an exam. School bullies would spread rumors about her, such as how she liked to torture little animals, ruining her school life.
(Disclaimer: Fake Story)
All credits to NASA
One day she biked home clenching a sheet of paper between her hands and the bike handle. It was the exam that she took that day and she had gotten an 87% on it. Rosa knew that her parents would not let that slide and the moment she got home, she was yelled at and criticized. Soon after, she decided to lock herself in her room and scroll through what every teenager downloaded on their phone: TikTok.
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What she saw only upset her more: a TikTok video her classmates made just to make fun of her. She quickly scrolled away and pretended not to care about the previous video. What she had seen caught her eye: Mars, the beautiful red planet. Suddenly, she realized that she might have found her passion.
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Rosa had finally become a scientist/astronaut at NASA. She was filled with ideas, but as reality hit her, she realized that her ideas were not going to be noticed. Determined to keep working on her goals, she moves forward trying to solidify her dream, but her expectation of being included in projects and creating something fascinating becomes crushed. She was cast out before having a chance to prove herself. It was an endless cycle of doing menial tasks and other people's work. Soon after, she starts to dislike her job at the agency, so determined to make an impact on others with inventions that could help by serving a bigger purpose, she went up to management to make changes.
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ROSA'S ADULT LIFE
PROJECT 1
Rosa was soon presented with a team to work on Mars. It was filled with individuals in a similar position as her. They were people who wanted to strive and accomplish something grand with creative ideas. Their first assignment was to learn more about Mars. Thinking about what she could do to complete the assignment, Rosa develops an invention with her crew: The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The plan was successful. Rosa and her teams start to brainstorm for more inventions that could serve a bigger purpose in understanding the planet. They were able to find an idea that could go more in-depth with their plan: The InSight Lander.
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Understanding how big their project has gotten, and what it can accomplish for the future, Rosa and the team decided to go big and create something that would explore Mars in a more detailed way: The Perseverance Rover
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