Three high school juniors to participate in aerospace program

Clark County — Three high school juniors were selected to take part in Phase One of the Washington Aerospace Scholars program, an online, distance learning curriculum designed by NASA and the University of Washington that focuses on the past, present and future of human space travel. The local students are Joshua Nygaard of Columbia River High School, Scout Osborne of La Center High School, and Riley Coffman of Washougal High School. They are part of a group of 156 high school juniors selected to participate in Phase One out of 212 applicants. The top 120 students from the first phase of the program will be invited to one of three summer residency sessions in July, which are hosted by the Museum of Flight in Seattle. In the Phase Two sessions, student teams plan a human mission to Mars with support from professional engineers and scientists, university students and educators. Participants also receive briefings from aerospace professionals, tour engineering facilities and compete in hands-on engineering challenges. The program is in its ninth year.