DES MOINES, Iowa — A group of Des Moines high school students are showcasing their talents in science, math and technology in a huge way: Taking part in a national challenge by NASA.
This year, NASA’s Student App Development Challenge (ADC) asks middle and high school teams to engage in a coding challenge, as part of the ongoing Artemis mission to the moon.
In their app, students must visualize the moon's south pole and display essential information for navigation and communication.
Out of more than 100 teams competing, there is only one Iowa team entered in the competition.
"This project was definitely intimidating to attack, but it's been a good learning experience. Not only have we learned so much, but it's also been good for us as friends," said Champ-Pacifique Mukiza, a junior at North High School.
Mukiza, fellow juniors Sujal Pokhrel and Jefrey Allen, sophomore Romas Pokhrel and Moss Louvan, a junior at Des Moines Virtual Campus, make up the Iowa team competing in NASA’s ADC.
"These opportunities don't really come by. And when they do, not many people are told about it," Sujal Pokhrel said. "And so having this opportunity itself is really nice."
The teens said because their respective schools are often considered by others to be some of the districts least favorable, their participation in the challenge is momentous.
"Knowing that what we have going on is something that's pretty significant to North and to DMPS in general, it feels good," Pokhrel said.
They said another perk of the competition are the doors that may open down the line.
"Something like this really opens our mind to more fields of expertise,” Allen said. “Early on we're able to figure out what we want to do for later on in life when we actually choose our career paths."
Some of the students already know what they want to do in the future and have chosen career paths focused on improving life for everyone.
"I plan to be a software engineer, I just think it's inspiring for a blank piece of code to turn into something big that helps everyone with their daily lives. I think it's great," Louvan said.
NASA will select several of the top teams in the competition to visit the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex. in April 2024.
Whether they land in Houston or not, Iowa's team said the real prize is their potential impact.
"What we've been doing, whether or not we go to Houston, the representation part is massive," Mukiza said.
As part of the competition each team must engage in outreach.
The North High team is hosting a public presentation to showcase their project on Friday, Dec. 8th at 3:30 p.m. in the North High School library.
Anyone is welcome to attend.