[music]
When I was four, we went on vacation to Disney World,
but the main part of that that caught my attention was we went to the Kennedy Space Center,
and when I was there, I instantly just fell in love with space and astronomy and
wanted to be an astronaut. My name is Dhanesh Krishnarao. I usually
go by "DK" here. I'm a rising senior at American University
studying physics and math. So this summer, my research project I'm working on
is to develop a system where spacecraft operators can look up
specific space weather conditions near their spacecraft. Space
weather is getting really important now, especially since there are more and more dependencies on
satellites and technology. Different space weather events can cause radio
blackouts, knock out GPS systems. So I think what I'm doing is
going to really help out with making sure that the least damage is done.
So the most exciting thing I've done this summer is probably
one of the days when all the other forecasters were busy. At this time no one else
was free; they were all attending conferences. But they decided to put me in charge
for the day. I think Goddard is a great place to be. Everyone is
very enthusiastic. Since last summer, as soon as I got here, I loved
everything here. One of the main things I liked here a lot was being able to play
ultimate frisbee every Tuesday and Thursday with all the NASA employees.
I mean overall, I just love being at Goddard. Everyone here is very nice and
it's been a great experience.
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