Madeline Male, a high school freshman from Fairway, is a finalist in a national — or, you could even say, out of this world — essay competition.
Male submitted her essay, entitled “Sending A Rover to Ganymede,” to the National Aeronautics and Space Association’s national essay competition Power to Explore Challenge.
The challenge asks students in kindergarten through 12th grade to imagine a mission enabled by the Radioisotope Power Systems, which is a type of nuclear battery that NASA uses to power space missions to extreme destinations where solar power is unavailable.
Male’s essay contemplates using radioisotope power systems to send a rover to Jupiter’s moon.
Male, who is home schooled, said she participated in the NASA competition because she enjoys writing, researching and learning about space.
When she was picking a destination for a hypothetical space mission, Male said she was drawn to Ganymede, Jupiter’s moon, because of its fascinating features. It has much volcanic activity, an underground ocean and is the only moon that is known to have a magnetic field.
“I’m just really glad that the contest judges liked my essay,” Male said. “I do a lot of writing, and now I feel even more inspired to keep writing and researching and doing that sort of thing.”
As a finalist, Male will receive a space-themed prize and a virtual meeting with a NASA expert.
Read Male’s essay in its entirety below, and can also be found online here.
Loading…
Keep reading: These 18 JoCo high schoolers earned ‘Shooting Stars’ arts scholarships
