Calgary high school student joins exclusive NASA internship program

Calgary teen scores NASA internship 17-year-old Alessandro Greco's passion for science and technology landed him an internship at NASA.

TORONTO — A 17-year-old’s passion for science and technology has landed him a spot in the world’s most famous space program.

Alessandro Greco from Calgary is one of 800 grade 10 and 11 students who applied for NASA’s STEM Enhancement in Earth and Space summer internship program for high school students.

The program is being held virtually over the summer with some on-site opportunities at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research. Students will learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work.

Greco says he first became interested in space at a young age when his parents bought him a telescope. Since then, he’s been focused on learning more science, math, engineering and technology.

In middle school, Greco says he attended the Robotics World Championships in Houston where a keynote speech from a NASA administrator piqued his interest on the subject.

“It was really inspiring,” Greco told CTV News Channel on Friday. “It was the first time that I really thought that it would be possible to actually have an opportunity to work with NASA.”

The purpose of NASA's Earth science program is to develop a scientific understanding of Earth's systems and its response to natural or human-induced changes with a goal to improve prediction of climate, weather and natural hazards.

“We started with an introductory part that provides us with some background knowledge in Earth and Space Science,” Greco explained. “Then it became more specific about the tools that NASA scientists use to process data and collect data. And now we're just beginning to make our own projects.”

Greco and the other interns will present their research at a symposium scheduled in August.

Learn more about the program here: https://science.nasa.gov/learners​