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无忧视频 Junior Selected for NASA鈥檚 Europa ICONS Internship

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected 无忧视频 junior Daniel Voyles as one of 40 undergraduate students who will participate in the inaugural year of its Europa ICONS (Inspiring Clipper: Opportunities for Next-generation Scientists) internship program, supporting the agency鈥檚 Europa Clipper mission.

Voyles will be matched with a mentor from the mission鈥檚 science team for a 10-week program to conduct original scientific research on topics related to the mission to Jupiter鈥檚 moon Europa, one of the most promising locations in our solar system for potential habitability. ICONS internships may be in-person at the mentor鈥檚 institution, virtual or hybrid, depending on the research project and needs of the mentor and intern. As part of the program, students and mentors will convene for a two-day meeting at NASA鈥檚 Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

鈥淲orking for NASA is really exciting because it鈥檚 such a well-known and well-respected organization that a lot of people dream of working for,鈥� says Voyles, a physics major. 鈥淭his specific internship interests me because I believe there is a lot that can be learned from Europa about the potential for life outside of Earth, and I鈥檓 thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to this learning.鈥�

Voyles was a high school class valedictorian, National Merit Finalist and talented cross country and All-American track and field athlete. He鈥檚 continued this interest as a member of the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps cross country and track and field teams. He鈥檚 utilizing perseverance and teamwork鈥攙aluable skills he says he鈥檚 learned through athletics鈥攊n his academic life and in his pursuit of a PhD in astrophysics and a career in research.

The Europa ICONS program is part of a larger effort known as Clipper Next Gen, a decade-long strategy to utilize Europa Clipper to train and diversify the next generation of planetary scientists. The Europa Clipper mission鈥檚 three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon鈥檚 icy shell and its surface interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission鈥檚 detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.