In 1997, Ryan Hannahoe met Public Affairs Officer Don Savage at NASA Headquarters. Savage gave him a book about the Next Generation Space Telescope. Little did Ryan know that he would be working on the education and public outreach for that telescope almost a decade and a half later.
Photo credit: NASA/Chris Gunn. NASA intern Ryan Hannahoe, left, and Radford Perry, contamination control engineer at NASA, examine a primary mirror segment for the James Webb Space Telescopoe at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
This is Ryan’s second summer interning with the education, public outreach and public affairs team for the James Webb Space Telescope. Having had a successful first summer where he was awarded a John Mather Nobel Scholarship, Ryan was invited back to continue educating teachers and the public about the enormous space telescope and the science it will do.
Photo credit: Montana State University/Kelly Gorham. Ryan Hannahoe helps a student at the James Webb Space Telescope booth during Astronomy Day at the Museum of the Rockies.
Ryan says it is great to come back to Goddard for a second summer, because he is able to jump right into his work since the first week. He has been sharing hands-on JWST activities with visitors at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, developing JWST-related education and outreach content, helping to train teachers, and working with several public outreach events. He also has had the exciting opportunity to talk with prominent space science figures about JWST.
Ryan thinks that all interested should apply for NASA internships. He encourages potential interns to talk with the people working on the missions that they find exciting. Ryan also suggests forming a relationship with your state’s Space Grant, because they can be a great source of opportunities and funding for students.