Moon Work Design Contest Offers NASA Internships to Winners

/PRNewswire/ -- Talented engineering students who have ideas on how future explorers might live on the moon could find themselves working at NASA as paid interns.

The 2010 NASA Moon Work engineering design challenge seeks to motivate college students by giving them first-hand experience with the process of developing new technologies. To participate in the contest, students will submit their original design for tools or instruments that can help astronauts live and work on the moon. Top-ranked students will be offered a chance to intern with a team from NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program.

The Exploration Technology Development Program develops new technologies that will enable NASA to conduct future human exploration missions while reducing mission risk and cost. The program is maturing near-term technologies to help enable the first flight of the Orion crew exploration vehicle and developing long-lead technologies needed for possible lunar exploration missions.

Winning Moon Work contestants also will have a chance to attend field tests conducted by the Desert Research and Technology Studies Program, managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The program conducts annual tests of new technologies in landscapes that are close analogs of the moon and other harsh space environments.

Students should submit a notice of intent to enter the contest by Dec. 15. Final entries for the Moon Work challenge are due May 15, 2010. All entries must be from students at U.S. colleges or universities. Although non-citizens may be part of a team, only U.S. citizens may win NASA internships or travel awards.

For complete details and to enter the contest, visit:
http://moonwork.larc.nasa.gov/

Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., manages the student contest for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Through this and NASA's other college and university programs, the agency is developing student skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- disciplines critical to achieving the agency's space exploration missions.

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Civil Service Internships Bring Benefits to the Federal Government

/PRNewswire/ -- As the nation's college students search for career opportunities in today's increasingly competitive job market, many are shifting their interest from Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. A recent survey conducted by The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars (TWC) found 69 percent of students are more inclined to choose a career in public service.

This drastic increase creates a number of benefits for Federal Government agencies.

"With baby boomers getting ready to retire from government service, agencies can utilize internships to eliminate 'brain drain' and fill vacant positions with qualified, trained personnel," said Jennifer Clinton, Chief Operating Officer of TWC. "Plus, interns bring new ideas, technological skills, and many can be hired for full-time positions directly through the Student Career Employment Program."

As one of the largest internship and education organizations in the United States, TWC placed more than 800 interns at hundreds of companies, non-profits and government agencies in the DC area this summer. As the unemployment rate rises, so does interest in internships with TWC, climbing more than 20 percent with the greatest rise at Federal agencies.

"It is very encouraging that this generation wants to work in government to help solve our country's tough economic challenges", said Norman Y. Mineta, former U.S. Secretary of Transportation.

"In essence, they want to get involved because they can make a difference," added Mineta. "And, there has never been a better time for the government to show this generation all that it has to offer."

TWC offers students and agencies an exceptional experience by providing the infrastructure necessary for a successful internship. Not only does TWC provide housing, academic classes, and a series of career seminars, it educates the students on what will be required of them at their current position.

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