National Space Society and Club for the Future to Support Youth Development Program in South Texas

Image: Participants in the Expanding Frontiers program view a solar eclipse. Credit: Expanding Frontiers.

The National Space Society is pleased to announce its selection of Expanding Frontiers for a new STEM education grant. The grant is one of the first in the NSS’s STEM grant program for 2022 and was funded by Blue Origin’s Club for the Future (CFF) initiative to inspire the next generation of space professionals.

NSS CEO Anita Gale said, “Mr. Bezos’s generous gift to the National Space Society extends to all humanity in spirit, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring a new generation into space-related endeavors. This is an investment in the future of humanity, and we’re pleased to be working with Expanding Frontiers on their important program.”

Identified as one of the most innovative programs of its kind in the country, Expanding Frontiers’ Space Entrepreneur Summer Academy (SESA) will create the National Space Society-Club for the Future (NSS-CFF) Scholar’s program, in which ten high school students from this year’s Space Entrepreneur Summer Academy (SESA) cohort will receive internships at Expanding Frontiers. SESA is based in Brownsville, Texas, and is offered to all regional students who are interested in space. Participants will engage with NASA experts, retired NASA engineers, NewSpace thought leaders, SESA alumni who are now professionals in the field, and NewSpace businesspeople from across the nation. Interns selected from the program will have the opportunity to work with mentors from academia and industry on space-related technology research and development. Several will be working directly with startup companies in the Expanding Frontiers’ space innovation ecosystem, an interconnected network of companies, universities, government agencies, and other entities that are creating new products and services associated with the space industry.

“We are excited for the new opportunities the National Space Society and the Club for the Future are enabling for our students here in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Dr. Fredrick Jenet, the founder and executive director of Expanding Frontiers.

SESA is currently accepting applications for the 2022 summer session running from July 11 through July 30, 2022. During the 3-week long session, students will interact with scientists, past SESA attendees, and “astropreneurs” about entering careers in space.

To learn more about Expanding Frontiers and its programs, please visit ExpandingFrontiers.org, where you can sign up for their newsletter, or follow them on social media. Expanding Frontiers (ExF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization developing an innovation ecosystem with emphasis on space and energy technologies in Brownsville, Texas, and supports local entrepreneurs.