Our mission proposal “Path to Deimos” was selected as one of twelve finalists to present at the annual RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida this June! This is incredibly exciting - especially being the first time ever for Columbia to participate - and I couldn’t be prouder of what our entire team has accomplished. A big thank you to our project advisor Professor Mike Massimino for his invaluable support and guidance, and congratulations to all members of CSI for another job well done.

Our next major goal is to submit both a final technical paper and an oral presentation by June 2. The final paper will be 10-15 pages in length, fully implementing all the specific technical details and diagrams we laid out in our mid-project review, and our oral presentation will highlight key aspects of our mission and fill a 30 minute time slot at the Forum. In addition, we’ll also have to prepare a trifold board that summarizes our mission for the poster session. Based on how well we do at the Forum, two of the top-winning teams will be invited to yet another technical conference (e.g. AIAA Space) to share their concepts!

As we craft the two components of our final project in the coming weeks, you’re welcome to join the RASC-AL team anytime - just post a message in the Slack channel or reach out to any current member of the mission team if you’re interested. The Forum will take place from Tuesday, June 21 to Friday, June 24; more info on travel logistics to come.

-James

NASA JPL celebrates the successful landing of the Curiosity Rover on Mars