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Breaking Barriers at 3rd Annual Findings from the Field Symposium

On March 30, 2026, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and the NASA Science Activation program’s Learning Ecosystems Northeast (LENE) project hosted the third installment of the Findings from the Field Student Research Symposium. This annual event and associated Findings from the Field journal are where students are the experts and the usual “white coat” barriers associated with science communication come down. This year’s event welcomed 106 students, grades four through eight, 29 educators, and 15 Subject Matter Experts, and it featured 68 research posters, 14 lightning talks, and 5 discussion sessions. 

To continue to foster a sense of belonging, the 2026 symposium introduced several shifts in how students interacted with science experts, data, and each other. In a move that subverted the traditional “look but don’t touch” rule of science, the first part of the day had students engaging in an activity inspired by the Data Vandals art group. They marked up visuals and treated data as a living, breathing conversation rather than a static fact. Another shift occurred within small discussion groups – the physical layout helped position the student scientists as the professionals. Students sat at the main table, while adults and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) sat behind them. This put the youth, and their findings, at the center of the room.

A keynote speech given by Dr. Dave Reidmiller, Chief Impact Officer at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, delivered what became the day’s unofficial mantra – “Science is a team sport”. This idea was reinforced in discussion groups with youth where they realized that scientific inquiry isn’t isolated. Students from different schools discovered they were essentially colleagues working on the same problems.

In the “Ash and Hemlock” groups, students who had only read about invasive pests found themselves swapping notes with students who had actually identified them in the field. Guiding questions posed by facilitators helped bridge any gaps in their knowledge and move the conversation forward:

• What happened?
• How do we know?
• Why does it matter?

These three questions allowed youth and adults to speak the same language, connecting the dots between their local data and the broader community issues they impact.

A new addition to the “Team Sport” this year was the increased presence of undergraduate students. Serving as a middle ground between the younger students and the career scientists, these mentors made the path to a scientific career feel reachable.

The second part of the day featured the students’ poster presentations. Here, they practiced communicating their work to an audience of peers and professional scientists, including leaders from the Maine Forest Service and NASA-affiliated researchers. 

Perhaps the most defining moment of the symposium didn’t come from a keynote or a professional scientist. It happened in a breakout room during a discussion about environmental data. When a question was posed by another student toward a SME, a student leaned forward and jumped in to answer instead. This wasn’t just confidence; it was the manifestation of the symposium’s primary goal. Youth are experts too. 

In the two previous iterations, the Symposium was hosted throughout the entire GMRI building, with posters lining the hallways and every conference room booked with lightning talks. When planning began for 2026, it quickly became clear that we had outgrown the space. Community supporters at GMRI corporate partner, Unum, graciously offered their office to host the growing number of students interested in participating. With the immediate feedback received, 2027 should be even bigger:

“I really enjoyed being able to connect with others on the cool science topics, and being able to share what I’ve learned.”

“I’ve never done something like this before… I might want to research more.”

“Hopefully, I get to do this next year.”

The 3rd Annual Findings Symposium proved that when you give young people a platform, and a sense of agency, they don’t just participate in science, they lead it. After all, they are the experts in the room.

The Learning Ecosystems Northeast project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB94A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/

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Blue Origin Moon Lander Completes Testing at NASA Vacuum Chamber

Also known as Endurance, MK1 is an uncrewed cargo lander funded by Blue Origin as a commercial demonstration mission to advance Human Landing System capabilities in support of NASA’s Artemis program. The tests in Chamber A represent a public-private partnership model, with Blue Origin conducting work through a reimbursable Space Act Agreement.

Endurance will demonstrate precision landing, cryogenic propulsion, and autonomous guidance, navigation, and control capabilities in support of future lunar surface operations. In addition to its primary objectives, MK1 will carry two NASA science and technology payloads under the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative to the lunar South Pole region this year: the Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies, an array of high-resolution cameras that will collect imagery of the interaction between the lander’s engine plume and the lunar surface during descent and landing, and the Laser Retroreflective Array, which helps orbiting spacecraft determine a more precise location using reflected laser light.

Through CLPS, NASA partners with American companies to deliver science investigations and technology demonstrations to the Moon, advancing understanding of the lunar environment and supporting future crewed missions as part of the agency’s Artemis campaign.

Testing in NASA Johnson’s Chamber A, one of the world’s largest thermal vacuum test facilities, enabled engineers to model the vacuum of space and the extreme temperature conditions the spacecraft would experience during flight. By recreating these conditions on the ground, teams evaluated system performance and verified structural and thermal integrity prior to launch. NASA and Blue Origin will incorporate lessons learned from MK1’s design, integration, and testing to support NASA’s future Artemis missions that will return American astronauts to the Moon.

MK1’s development contributes to technology maturation and risk reduction for future human-class systems, including Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2), a larger crewed landing system designed to safely transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface and back, enabling sustained human exploration at the Moon’s South Pole region.

Testing of MK1 at NASA Johnson is enabled through the agency’s “front door” approach — a coordinated process that provides commercial partners access to NASA facilities and technical expertise while maintaining safety, mission assurance, and alignment with agency objectives.

More information about Thermal Vacuum Chamber A is available at https://www.nasa.gov/setmo/facilities/thermal-vacuum-chamber-a/ 

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Ivry Artis

NASA Kennedy Center Director Announces Plans to Retire

NASA announced Friday Janet Petro, center director for the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is retiring.

Prior to joining NASA, Petro worked in a variety of military and industry positions, ultimately beginning her career at the agency in 2007 and working her way up to center director, as well as serving as acting administrator from January to July 2025.

“From the outset of her distinguished tenure at NASA, Janet has served as a profoundly influential leader, guiding both the agency and our Kennedy Space Center through some of the most significant transitions in our shared history, including playing a central role in reshaping NASA Kennedy into the nation’s premier multiuser spaceport,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “As NASA has been charged, once again, with accomplishing the near impossible, I’m grateful for Janet for always embracing the challenge of discovering what could be and for pushing the boundaries to deliver the missions that enable NASA to lead the way into a new era of space.”

As NASA Kennedy’s 11th director, Petro manages a team of civil service and contractor employees, determining and implementing center policy and managing and executing the spaceport’s missions and agency program responsibilities. Previously, Petro served as acting director and NASA Kennedy’s deputy director. During her time as deputy director, she helped the center transition into a multi-user spaceport, leading cross-agency initiatives with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and U.S. Air Force to streamline government processes and support commercial space operations to increase government efficiency and limit redundancy.

Petro also has served numerous roles at Kennedy and NASA Headquarters in Washington, including as the program executive on an agencywide initiative to restructure mission support functions, helping NASA become more efficient and effective in its work.

Outside of the agency, Petro has served in various management positions for Science Applications International Corporation, or SAIC, and McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation, interfacing with NASA, U.S. military, and commercial entities on numerous aerospace and military programs.  

Petro began her professional career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army after graduating in 1981 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, with a bachelor of science degree in engineering. She was in the second class of West Point graduates to include women. Petro also holds a master of science degree in business administration from Boston University’s Metropolitan College.

Petro is the recipient of numerous service and performance awards, including a President’s Distinguished executive award, and has received the astronaut-selected Silver Snoopy award for outstanding performance, contributing to flight safety and mission success. In 2018, Petro was selected by Florida Governor Rick Scott for induction in the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, and she helped lead the senior management team awarded the 2019 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Sammies Management Excellence Medal. She received the 2022 Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award by the National Space Club Florida Committee for her contributions to America’s aerospace efforts within the state of Florida.

Effective Friday, Kelvin Manning now is stepping into the role of acting center director, bringing more than 32 years of leadership and technical expertise. He has previously served as deputy center director.

For more about NASA’s missions, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Bethany Stevens / Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
bethany.c.stevens@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

Amanda Griffin
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-593-6244
amanda.griffin@nasa.gov

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Lauren E. Low

NASA Artemis II Crew Rings Nasdaq Closing Bell

Nasdaq Chair and Chief Executive Officer Adena T. Friedman, left, and NASA’s Artemis II crewmembers CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, right, ring the closing bell of the Nasdaq market session, Thursday, April 30, 2026.

NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth earlier in April 2026.

Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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Monika Luabeya