Describe what you did during your internship:

For the projects assigned, I was able to work on the following: For the RAPTOR project, my goal for this semester regarding this project was to continue the construction of the wind tunnel and hopefully complete it. Constuction includes building the various sections, and the drive system for the tunnel. The sections were mainly made out of wood hence hours of wood construction had to be put in to complete the building of the sections. For the Outwash project, my goal for this semester was to create a calibration rig that would help in the measure of the outwash air velocity. Various components are involved in making the rig for a proper calibration hence those parts were to be ordered and be designed as part of an assembly. Hot-films are being used to measure the air velocities and have to be calibrated before every test before taking the measurements, hence the rig should provide an easy method to calibrate the hot-films. A cart was designed which would easily carry all the components and can easily adjust based on the location of the hot-films and is mobile to take away from the testing setup. For the BEST project, a rotorblade component was designed to study the tensile strength of the root of the blade. The blade was 3D printed at different orientations and the root of each was pulled until the maximum force for each and understand the best orientation for the blades while manufacturing.

Did you achieve your goals?

For each of the projects, the following were achieved: For the RAPTOR project, the main construction of all the tunnel sections were complete. Although it is yet to be smoothened out, and painted, the construction itself is complete. For the Outwash project, the calibration rig has been built but is yet to be tested to ensure the components are connected well. The rig will soon be tested to verify if every component works well with the required function. For the BEST projects, multiple tensile strength tests were conducted, and more are to be conducted before any plausible results can be concluded. Overall, a lot of progress has been made on each of the projects to be carried forward for further developments.

Describe positive lessons learned:

I gained a lot of experience during my 16 week experience at Ames Research Center. I learned to work as a team and set daily tasks for myself to develop not just my skills but the project as well. I was able to network with reputed NASA employees and understand the working process. I was also able to learn the skill towards work-life balance such that I was able to give time for my leisure activities while making progress in my projects.

Describe negative lessons learned:

There were no negative lessons I have come across during my internship. I have had a very positive experience and was able to complete my internship with positive results.

What was the impact of this internship?

This internship has allowed me to explore different aspects of a research project. I am learnt the protocol of communicating with different levels of staff authorities based on the need and help, and how to work in terms of good needs for a project. I was able to enhance my skills and use it in a manner to contribute well to the projects to bring progress. All efforts as an intern was acknowledged by every mentor and I was given the opportunity to learn more about the science behind the projects. I developed my collaborative skills by not only helping out my mentors, but by helping out other mentors in their projects. This has developed my interest more in research and STEM as I have been exposed to different opportunities and how as an intern I am able to contribute to NASA projects.