White Sands Test Facility Encourages Locals to Leave Their Footprint on the Space Industry

[NASA]

At the edge of Las Cruces, New Mexico, surrounded by miles of sunbaked earth, NASA’s White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) is quietly shaping the future. There is no flash, no fanfare — the self-contained facility operates as it has since 1962, humbly and in relative obscurity.

Yet as New Mexico’s space industry skyrockets amid intensifying commercial spaceflight efforts across the state, WSTF feels a new urgency to connect with the community. With the facility’s latest Test and Evaluation Support Team (TEST3) contract now in its third year, Program Manager Michelle Meerscheidt is determined to make a mark.

“I think it’s very important we increase our public presence,” Meerscheidt said. “We are a significant contributor to NASA’s mission and our country’s aspirations for furthering space exploration.”

In September, TEST3 leadership joined forces with the City of Las Cruces to support the sixth annual Las Cruces Space Festival, a two-weekend celebration of the region’s rich relationship with the aerospace industry.

The Test and Evaluation Support Team (TEST3) team — Human Resources Manager Kristina Garcia (left), Program Manager Michelle Meerscheidt, and Deputy Program Manager/Business Manager Karen Lucht — prepares to meet with visitors at the Las Cruces Space Festival Astronomy & Industry Night on Sept. 13, 2024, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

NASA/Anthony Luis Quiterio

Alongside WSTF, festival director Alice Carruth is working to open a world that many believe is off limits and others don’t know exists.

“Unless you’re driving over the mountains regularly and seeing the sign that says, ‘The Birthplace of the U.S. Space and Missile Program,’ you don’t tend to know what’s going on in your backyard,”  Carruth said.

“The whole premise of the Space Festival is to make people understand what’s going on in their community, to encourage people to think about careers in the space industry, and to inspire the next generation.”

A featured speaker at the festival’s New Mexico State University Astronomy & Industry Night, Meerscheidt had the chance to do just that.

“It’s fun to see a lot of young kids that are wide-eyed and excited,” Meerscheidt said. “It’s nice to be able to encourage them to pursue their dreams.”

Among those wide-eyed festivalgoers was 6-year-old Camilla Medina-Bond, who was confident in her vision for the future.

“I want to be an astronaut when I grow up,” she said. “I want to visit the Moon.”

As for the details of her lunar mission, Medina-Bond’s plan is simple: “Just going to see what’s on it.” She has plenty of time to figure out the specifics — after all, giant leaps start with small steps. According to Meerscheidt, the aspiring astronaut has already taken the first and most critical step.

“That’s what NASA is all about,” Meerscheidt said. “Explore, be inquisitive. Open your mind, open your imagination, and go for it.”

Left: Camilla Medina-Bond, age 6, proudly shows off her foam stomp rocket and NASA White Sands Test Facility baseball cap during the Las Cruces Space Festival’s Astronomy & Industry Night on the New Mexico State University campus. Right: Medina-Bond immerses herself in another world as she operates a virtual reality headset.

NASA/Anthony Luis Quiterio

Medina-Bond’s aspiration is shared by many young dreamers. A 2024 global study by longtime NASA partner, the LEGO Group, found 77% of kids ages 4-14 want to travel to space.

Carruth acknowledged that keeping the attention of today’s always-scrolling, trend-driven generation is not easy, and that children’s fascination with space often wanes as they age.

“If you look at the statistics, space tends to be really cool until they get to middle school level, and then space isn’t cool anymore — not because it’s not cool, but because it then becomes inaccessible to a lot of students,” she said.

Still, Carruth is prepared to navigate the challenge.

“I want kids to understand that space is for everybody,” Carruth said. “I also want their parents and grandparents to understand why space is important and that this is a feasible career.”

Oscar Castrejon, who attended the festival with his 12-year-old son, Oscar Jr., is on his own mission to nurture that understanding. “I’ve learned early kids need to develop their own passions, but if they say ‘hey, I like this, I’m interested in it,’ then I’ll take them to it,” Castrejon said. “If their eyes get opened, if their imagination gets sparked, you never know — you could be looking at the next NASA scientist.”

Oscar Castrejon and his son Oscar Jr., age 12, stop by the White Sands TEST3 booth.

Anthony Luis Quiterio

WSTF TEST3 Deputy Program Manager and Business Manager Karen Lucht shares Castrejon’s philosophy, emphasizing the importance of authenticity.

“Speak[ing] to who you are as a person will ultimately lead to who you will become as a professional,” she said.

A remote test site, WSTF has its own ecosystem which Lucht compares to a “small city.” Among its residents are scientists and engineers, but also welders, writers, firefighters, and photographers — to name a few.

“White Sands offers endless opportunities for everybody,” Lucht said. “Every career has a path here.”

Lucht’s own journey illustrates the infinite potential that arises in diverse spaces like WSTF.

“I came from a town of less than a thousand people, and I never dreamt that I would work for NASA,” she said. “As someone who was told many times that I would never make it to my position, I look back on my career and realize there are no restraints. You really can do anything you want to do.”

For those wanting to join the ranks at WSTF, there is one important requirement: they must see themselves as stardust, a vital element in a grand cosmic plan.

“We’re looking for people who have the right perspective, the desire to learn and contribute to something bigger than themselves,” Lucht said.

At WSTF — a place where the stars feel close enough to touch — the sky is not the limit, it is only the beginning.

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