
The 2023-2024 NASA TechRise Challenge launched over 30 student-designed payloads via World View Space’s high-altitude balloon, giving future scientists hands-on experience in research, coding, and electronics. Photo Credit: FUTURE ENGINEERS
A team of students from St. Croix Educational Complex has been selected to take part in NASA's fourth TechRise Student Challenge.

The Challenge, which was open to 6th to 12th graders in schools across the nation, asked teams to design experiments that would then be taken on either a high-altitude balloon or a rocket-powered lander, flown by two of NASA's commercial partners.
“TechRise is a unique opportunity that allows students to gain hands-on knowledge while developing real payloads for flight, and it’s an experience they can carry with them during their educational and early career journeys,” said Prasun Desai, deputy associate administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The selected team from Complex l designed an experiment to explore the efficiency of solar panels at various altitudes. They will receive $1500 with which to build out the experiment, a flight box to house it, technical support from Challenge partner Future Engineers, and a spot for their experiment on the high-altitude balloon, flown by World View. The students will now spend the rest of the school year building the experiment with the guidance and support of professional engineers.
According to Angela Balya, Program Co-ordinator for Future Engineers, the Challenge “inspires a deeper understanding of space exploration, Earth observation, coding, electronics, and the value of test data.”

The proposal from the Complex team was one of 60 selected from amongst more than 720 proposals submitted. The Consortium has reached out to team representatives for more information on their experiment and their experience thus far.