Inspiring Girls in STEM: Girl Scouts Will Send Research to the ISS

As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we are reminded that young girls everywhere are drawing inspiration from these moments, hoping to someday pave their own way in history. An exciting example of this is the recent winners of the “Making Space for Girls Challenge Program,” organized by the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council and Space Kids Global, with support from ProXops, a high-tech company providing engineering and science support services in partnership with the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) U.S. National Laboratory.

The program provided an avenue for Girl Scouts from around the nation to demonstrate their skills in science, art, and writing, with nearly 700 entries. Participants could submit entries for three challenges: designing an experiment to be done on the ISS, creating space-themed art, or writing an essay related to space. The winners of the experiment challenge will get to watch their research launch to the ISS later this year using resources sponsored by the ISS National Lab. The scouts also had the opportunity to submit designs for a mission patch to commemorate the challenge.

Many kinds of skills are needed in the space industry—in addition to scientists and engineers, we also need artists, communications majors, business majors, lawyers, and so much more. To support workforce development and science literacy in the next generation, the ISS National Lab recently released a research announcement seeking applications for educational programs, products, and public-private partnerships that leverage the ISS National Lab to enable digital engagement and higher education. We hope that through research announcements such as this and programs like the Girls Scouts “Making Space for Girls Challenge Program,” students will be continuously inspired to look to the space industry as a future career path to pursue.

We are so proud of the winning Girl Scouts and are excited to see their research launch to the ISS later this year. For now, join us in celebrating these girls’ hard work and in officially welcoming them to the ISS research community!