SNOHOMISH—Valley View Middle School 8th grade student Maggie Hou has been named one of nine national finalists in NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge, a prestigious national writing competition for K-12 students that highlights the role of radioisotopes in powering space exploration.
The challenge invited students to learn about NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS) – often referred to as “nuclear batteries” – which enable exploration of the most extreme environments in our solar system and beyond. Students were asked to envision a unique mission to explore any moon in our solar system using RPS, and to describe, in 275 words or less, how their personal “superpower” would help them accomplish the mission’s goals.
This year’s competition received a record-breaking 2,051 submissions from students across all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity schools overseas. In late March, NASA recognized Hou as one of just 45 semifinalists. From this exceptional group, nine national finalists were selected – three in each grade category (K–4, 5–8, and 9–12). Hou is among the top three in the grades 5–8 category.
As a national finalist, Hou will receive a NASA RPS prize pack and will be invited to participate in an exclusive virtual meeting with a NASA scientist or engineer to discuss her mission concept and ask questions about space exploration. NASA will announce the final winners of the Power to Explore Challenge on Wednesday, May 7.
To learn more about the competition, visit www.futureengineers.org/powertoexplore.
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
