Howland Local Schools proudly welcomed Patrick Barnes, NASA systems engineer and Howland resident, to Howland Junior High School for a special presentation with our eighth grade students.
Barnes, father of eighth grader Kylie Barnes, played a direct role in NASA’s Artemis II mission, working on the mission’s communication systems through NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program. Students heard firsthand about careers in STEM, space exploration, and the teamwork behind one of NASA’s most important current missions.
NASA’s SCaN Program manages the communications and navigation systems critical to every NASA mission, from astronauts aboard the International Space Station to the Voyager spacecraft traveling beyond our solar system. These systems allow spacecraft commands, scientific data, and incredible images to travel between Earth and space every day.
And the excitement doesn’t stop there! Last week, another rocket and payload were launched into space with NASA, featuring work developed and managed by Howland graduate Kaitlyn Bebb-Watson, an Aerospace Flight Systems Engineer!