New Space and Tech

Girl Scout to Be Recognized at JPL with Badge Flown on NASA’s Artemis I

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
July 20, 2023
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Girl Scout to Be Recognized at JPL with Badge Flown on NASA’s Artemis I
Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles

Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA) announced today that Uma E., a Girl Scout Brownie, will be recognized at a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL) Advisory Council for Women (ACW) event on July 26 as a winner of the Girl Scouts of the USA “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest.

The goal of the contest was to generate excitement for the mission, promote space science opportunities, and elevate women in STEM. Out of 15 Girl Scout Brownie winners nationwide, Uma will receive a badge that was onboard the Artemis I mission. At this event, Uma will meet and connect with ACW’s guest speaker and space engineer, Renee Frohnert, and other women who collaborated on the Artemis I mission and tour the JPL facility.

“We are over the moon—literally—about Uma’s achievement, and for her special recognition at such a prestigious event surrounded by leaders who strive to empower women for success in the 21st century workplace,” said Theresa Edy Kiene, CEO at GSGLA. “A key pillar in Girl Scouting is to expand Girl Scouts’ horizons and elevate science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) opportunities for women; Uma’s experience exemplifies the Girl Scout mentality that there’s no limit to space exploration and no limit to girls’ ambitions.”

In 2022, Girl Scouts of the USA sponsored the “Girl Scouts to the Moon and Back” essay contest that gave Girl Scouts all over the nation a chance to win a Space Science badge that’s been to space on NASA’s Artemis I, which launched on Nov. 16, 2022, and landed back on Earth on Dec. 11, 2022. That mission was NASA’s first step toward the goal of sending the first woman and the first person of color to the moon. Each Girl Scout age group was given different writing prompts focused on imagining their role in space exploration. Uma wrote about where she would want to go and what she would do if she were the first kid ever sent on a mission to space.

To learn more about the essay contest, visit here.

About Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles

Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles (GSGLA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, serves more than 33,000 girls in partnership with more than 17,000 adult members and volunteers throughout the communities of Los Angeles County, and parts of Kern and San Bernardino counties. GSGLA is the largest girl-serving nonprofit agency in Los Angeles, with programs in entrepreneurship, life skills, outdoor, and STE(A)M, building girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Backed by the worldwide Girl Scouts movement that includes 1.5 million members and millions of alumnae, Girl Scouts in our council lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them.

To learn more, visit www.gsgla.org

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.