What are the current goals of your project?

My goal is to keep working on the user interfaces and ideally reach a level of completion for each one before the end of the internship. I’m exploring new skills, like soldering, and I want to continue taking on more opportunities to explore other skills and projects within NASA. I also spent a lot of time on a virtual summer class after work, but now that that’s done, I definitely want to get more involved with other intern events.

What accomplishments has your project made so far?

I have been fortunate to work with other interns to develop new user interfaces for two astronaut exercise devices. One of them is the Flywheel, an existing rowing-like device that flies on the ISS, and the other is the Wobbleboard, a prototype device that behaves like a balance board. These user interfaces exist to track data for each astronaut during their exercise session, as well as let the astronauts modify the weight or load of the equipment. The new software we’re writing will replace existing software that is outdated and needs updating. We’re using the programming language Dart, and a framework called Flutter to basically develop an iPad application from scratch, which is all completely new to me so I’ve been learning a lot!

What impact has this internship had so far?

This internship has greatly impacted my future goals. I honestly didn’t know what to expect coming into NASA, but I would really love to see myself come back here for another internship and/or full-time work. I was planning on graduating in a year, but I’m exploring another opportunity to return to the Johnson Space Center for the Spring 2025 term, so graduation might have to wait!