Ze’ev Lailari, Graham Parvinkarimi and Genevieve Jordan spent a week of their summer planning a mission to Mars.

The students from George Mason High School in Falls Church. were three of 145 rising high school seniors from across the Commonwealth selected to take part in the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars academy. The academy was held over the summer at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton and was hosted by NASA Langley in partnership with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

Prior to the academy, the students completed a six-month interactive distance-learning program on aerospace exploration that prepared them for their intensive week at NASA Langley.

During the academy, the students toured NASA labs and facilities, talked with NASA researchers, scientists and astronaut Dr. Roger Crouch, as well as gained solid workforce experience and college credit.

Each student was placed on a team and charged with an area of expertise to research and become knowledgeable about for the creation of the mission. These students’ areas included space suits, ascent vehicles and crew modules.

All three students are interested in studying either engineering or math.