POCATELLO, Idaho — A geosciences professor from Idaho State University is helping to coach the next team of astronauts to visit the moon.
Shannon Kobs Nawotniak, associate professor of geosciences, is currently serving as a member of NASA’s Joint EVA Test Team (JETT) 3.
The JETT 3 Team is responsible for preparing the astronauts to conduct the experiments planned for the Artemis III mission through simulated missions on Earth. Planning to launch in 2025, Artemis III is slated to be the first crewed moon landing since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
"During the Apollo missions, astronauts were almost all test pilots. Only one geologist was ever sent to the moon, even though most of the research that was done is related to geology,” said Kob Nawotniak. “The Artemis astronauts will include geologists, biologists, and other scientists, and we are figuring out how to support them from Earth. There will be a lot riding on their shoulders, and they will need active help from Mission Control to do good science while they're up there."
Kobs Nawotniak is no stranger to working on projects with NASA. She has previously served as the Deputy Principal Investigator for the Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains project, Geology Co-Lead for Field Investigations to Enable Solar system Science and Exploration project, and a co-investigator on the Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog. She’s also had a number of research projects funded by NASA grants.
However, her current work with JETT3 includes something a little more special, as she has been reunited with former student Angela Garcia. Garcia earned a master’s degree in geology from Idaho State and now works for NASA as an exploration geoscientist. Garcia is tasked with integrating science into human spaceflight in preparation for Artemis missions that will explore the Moon.
“It was a true privilege to work alongside Shannon on the JETT 3 science team,” said Garcia. “As my former advisor, Shannon taught and exemplified how to foster healthy relationships with colleagues and how to be a leader and follower. These lessons have been vital in my career, and I am so thankful to have had a role model like Shannon cheering me on every step of the way.”
The JETT 3 Team has been working with astronauts at sites around the nation to help better prepare the astronauts for their time on the lunar surface. Recently, Kobs Nawotniak spent time in Arizona helping with a moonwalking test mission.
“It's incredibly exciting to be part of the team that's setting the stage for humans to return to the Moon,” Kobs Nawotniak said. “It's been doubly wonderful to work on this project because I get to work with Angela again and see how she's taken problems that we wrestled with when she was a graduate student at ISU and taken their solutions to a whole new level.”
“We've been doing a lot of preparatory work on this for years here in Idaho, including at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, and I'm thrilled to see that work getting incorporated into the JETT 3 architecture and beyond," Kobs Nawotniak said.
“Space exploration has always been fascinating to me, but it never occurred to me growing up that I would someday actually be working with NASA to make it happen,” said Kobs Nawotniak. “Maybe someday I'll be cool enough for it to all seem normal, but I've been working with NASA for close to a decade now and I haven't gotten there yet.”
For more information on ISU’s Department of Geosciences, visit isu.edu/geosciences.
