According to the Interplanetary Superhighway concept, the gravity and movement of planets create a network of low-energy orbits which may be viable as efficient transit routes throughout the solar system. For her project, Erika DeBenedictis developed a software navigation system - based on an original optimizing search algorithm - that may help autonomous spacecraft better navigate these pathways.
Erika, a senior at Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was a 2009 Davidson Fellow and first-place award winner in the New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge. The 18-year-old is also an accomplished pianist and vocalist, and hopes to attend Caltech or MIT.
2 comments:
I know nothing about this, but it sounds really cool. This gal is quite the thinker. It would be great if private enterprise would pursue it which it will if it is economically feasible and if the government can stay out of it.
Cool stuff. Astronomy has been a top 5 favorite class I've taken in my college career (and I'm almost done)
Post a Comment