MIT Media Lab summer program links high school interns to space research

A summer showcase at MIT on Aug. 27 highlighted how five high school interns helped the Space Enabled Research Group with robotics, drone code, workshops and 3D-printed awards. The event also spotlighted research on wax-based satellite fuel and the role of mentorship in bringing students into fast-changing STEM fields.

Why it matters: - The MIT Media Lab program gave high school students hands-on exposure to space research, robotics and coding in a real lab setting. - The internship connected classroom learning to public-facing work, which can help students see how engineering, communication and teamwork shape research outcomes. - The showcase also pointed to a broader goal at MIT: making advanced STEM fields feel more accessible to younger students.

What happened: - MIT’s Space Enabled Research Group held a summer internship showcase on Aug. 27 at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. - The event featured research on satellite propulsion, candle wax, robotics, computer coding and drone demonstrations. - Five high school interns were recognized for work tied to Zero Robotics, an educational program for middle and high school students focused on programming, robotics and space systems. - The students’ participation was supported by the Academy of Aspire Intelligence, a Boston-area nonprofit that coordinated communication, educational logistics, family outreach and event support. - The program ended with student presentations, certificate recognition, interviews and a tour of the Media Lab.

The details: - Space Enabled Research Group founding director Danielle Wood leads research on how space technology can improve accessibility, sustainability and social and environmental justice. - The group uses satellite data and Earth observation to study drought, disasters and other problems on Earth. - The research also examines how satellites and robotic systems can be made safer and more environmentally responsible. - Wood said the group is exploring candle wax and beeswax as fuel for satellite propulsion. - The work focuses on making wax into a fuel grain, a tubular structure with an opening through the center. - The wax must be rotated while cooling to form the right shape. - Wood said earlier experiments suggest the process may be easier in microgravity because it can be done at lower rotation rates than on Earth. - The team is continuing experiments to understand how the fuel grains could be produced and used in space systems. - The group described systems engineering as defining goals, understanding the intended users, building a design, testing it repeatedly and examining social and environmental effects. - The Space Enabled work also includes repeated testing, with Wood noting that failed tests lead to more attempts and further evaluation of the technology’s broader impact. - Zero Robotics gives students experience writing code for robots associated with the International Space Station, drones and other flying systems. - The five interns recognized were Nuoyi Cao of Weston High School in Massachusetts, Diana Jingxuan Liang of Brookline High School in Massachusetts, Jacqueline “Jianlin” Li of Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts, Jalen Cai of Diamond Bar High School in California and Ho Lam “Allen” Liu of Magee Secondary School in British Columbia. - Cao, Liang and Li attended the event in person and presented parts of their work. - Cai and Liu were recognized as members of the internship team even though they could not attend. - Internship assignments included coding, testing, workshop support, competition commentary, research preparation and drone demonstrations. - The interns also helped create 3D-printed trophies for winning teams. - Cao took primary responsibility for the trophy design. - The trophy was designed so it could be separated, shipped to distant winners and reassembled by recipients. - Cao described the work as turning an idea into a tangible product and said the project also solved a shipping problem. - Cao compared the reassembly concept to a Lego set. - Cao said she hopes to become a mechanical or aerospace engineer. - Cao also helped prepare commentary and short lines for the finals event to keep younger students engaged during a competition that lasted several hours. - Li worked on presentation and communication tasks, including live commentary and identifying distinctive features in teams’ code. - Li said she had not done deep, complicated coding before the internship. - Li said she is still exploring academic directions and values learning how people work in different fields. - Liang worked on code testing, finals preparation and student workshops. - Liang and Cai learned and tested code for younger students to use with drones, despite limited prior programming experience. - Liang said Cai found issues in existing code and on the program website that the team fixed. - Liang also led workshop activities for roughly 50 high school students. - Liang said the internship increased her interest in STEM. - Liang said the Media Lab culture included discussion of ethics, people and public impact, not just technology. - The interns also supported hands-on workshops for local students and visitors from around New England. - Wood said the interns helped with rocket launches and showed how student-written code worked on drones and other flying robotic platforms. - Wood thanked AAI for helping make the internship possible. - AAI supported student contact, educational coordination, family communication, presentation preparation, event organization and media logistics. - One educator at the event said communication is part of the educational value because students must learn to explain technical ideas to others. - The educator also emphasized mentorship as a way to turn ideas into action and hold students accountable. - Wood said young researchers need to know that failure is acceptable and persistence matters. - Wood recalled struggling with programming and engineering during an internship around 2005 before continuing into graduate study and later mentorship. - The event also showed how students can enter fast-changing fields like artificial intelligence and robotics through short-term programs and concrete projects. - Audience members toured the Media Lab and saw research areas including prosthetics, biotechnology and urban-focused projects. - Haley, a local attendee, said the visit helped her learn more about MIT and the interns’ summer experience. - The gathering included research presentations, student reports, certificate recognition, media interviews and family photos.

Between the lines: - The showcase was as much about access and confidence as it was about technical training. - Students were asked to do real work, then explain that work to others, which reflects how research and innovation often depend on communication as much as coding. - The range of tasks suggested that STEM pathways can start in many places, from design and logistics to programming and public presentation. - The wax-fuel project and the student projects both reflected the same idea: experimentation matters, and progress often comes from repeated attempts.

What’s next: - The Space Enabled Research Group will continue experiments on wax-based fuel grains and related space systems research. - Programs like Zero Robotics are expected to keep giving younger students entry points into robotics, coding and space-focused learning. - AAI appears set to continue using research partnerships and internships to connect students with advanced academic environments. - The broader model is likely to remain focused on mentorship, hands-on work and public showcases that help students see themselves in STEM.

The bottom line: - MIT’s summer showcase used one research lab to do two things at once: push space technology forward and give high school students a real way into the field.