In May, hundreds of students from across the nation participated in the annual Robert H. Herndon Memorial Science Competition (RHHMSC), giving them the opportunity to explore their passion for space.

A key part of Aerospace’s culture is to nurture the brightest minds of tomorrow to shape the future of space. This year’s event, in-person in Chantilly and El Segundo, featured an essay competition and student science projects, with virtual essay competitions available to students in Alabama and Florida.

“By hosting this event, we are contributing during an impressionable period of their lives,” said Dr. Clyde Moseberry, Lead Coordinator of RHHMSC-East in Chantilly. “We are giving them an experience as real-world STEM practitioners that will help sustain, encourage, and for many, accelerate their lifelong interest and pursuit of STEM.”

This year marked 47 years for the event, which is designed to stimulate interest in STEM amongst the next generation of leaders and innovators across the aerospace industry.

In Chantilly, middle and high school students spent the day engaging with Aerospace engineers and scientists and explaining their research and projects; in El Segundo, students gathered to participate in the essay and experiment competitions.

The students’ curiosity and enthusiasm stood out across a variety of their experiments, including a submersible aerial vehicle, an integrated device for early detection of pronation problems, a versatile portable water purification system and a robot trained to capture garden pests using AI vision recognition. Essays spanned an even broader spectrum, including intelligent traffic control, microbiological agents to remove microplastics, and the evolution of telescopes.

In addition to showing off their projects, students also had the opportunity to interact with Aerospace employees getting feedback on their research. They also toured various Aerospace facilities, learning more about some of the exciting opportunities in space.

“By supporting the RHHMSC we have a wonderful opportunity to make it clear to STEM students that we value and support what they are doing,” said Moseberry. “It’s important that they get to stand and present their research where we practice some of the world's leading STEM here at Aerospace.”