2023 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Interns

Watch short vlogs from the 2023 New Zealand Space Scholarship recipients. This programme, administered by MBIE's New Zealand Space Agency, will see five Kiwi interns travel to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, USA.

An enormous place: Celine’s first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Celine Jane, New Zealand Space Scholarship recipient, reflects on her first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In Celine’s first week, she learnt about the niche areas of research undertaken at JPL and met a range of people working on NASA missions.

Like a theme park: Daniel’s first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Daniel Wrench, recipient of the Alexander J. Willoughby Fellowship under the New Zealand Space Scholarship programme, reflects on his first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Daniel’s first week included a tour of the JPL facilities and discovering what it’s like living in Pasadena, California.

Learning a lot: Leah’s first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Leah Albrow, New Zealand Space Scholarship recipient, reflects on her first week at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Leah’s first week saw her getting stuck into her exoplanets project and meeting scientists and other interns.

Introducing Celine Jane

Celine Jane is one of 5 2023 New Zealand Space Scholarship recipients.

Celine will work on creating the capability to use a tiny piece of code (a ‘micropatch’) to fix a single software vulnerability, without requiring a system reboot, on mission-critical spacecraft. Celine is interested in using space technology to explore new horizons for humankind and innovate for the benefit of society.

Introducing Daniel Wrench

Daniel Wrench is the recipient of the privately-funded Alexander J. Willoughby Fellowship.

Daniel will work with a data scientist to apply neural networks, a popular machine learning algorithm used in AI, to speed up an engineering calculation called topology optimisation. This calculation involves finding the best layout of materials, given certain constraints to the design.

Introducing Jack Naish

Jack Naish is one of 5 2023 New Zealand Space Scholarship recipients.

Jack will work on the Exo-biology extant life surveyor (EELS) mission concept under the mentorship of Rob Royce. EELS is a robotic snake platform designed to explore englacial conduits on Earth and subsurface features on ocean worlds such as Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. Jack’s project aims to develop intelligent control algorithms to help EELS explore extreme terrain.

Introducing Leah Albrow

Leah Albrow is one of 5 2023 New Zealand Space Scholarship recipients.

Leah will work on the Exoplanet Watch project at JPL. She will be responsible for conducting large-scale data analysis of exoplanet transits collected by students and amateur astronomers, in order to identify new planets or signals of orbital changes. By combining this data with hundreds of existing datasets, Leah aims to optimise the use of large telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, by reducing uncertainty around the timings of transit events.

Introducing Michaela Dobson

Michaela Dobson is one of 5 2023 New Zealand Space Scholarship recipients.

Michaela will work in the Astro biogeochemistry lab with Dr Michael Tuite looking at a fossilised hydrothermal/hot spring system that was outflowing into a lake in Nevada. Michaela will geologically map the environment and undertake laboratory work on collected samples to investigate how this system formed. This will inform the Mars 2020 team on where to search for life in Jezero Crater if Perseverance comes across hot spring deposits.