Livia Anderson, a student at Columbia River High School, and Sydney Fox-Middleton, a student at Vancouver iTech Preparatory, have been selected for the first phase of the 10th Washington Aerospace Scholars program at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The program is designed to connect Washington’s high school juniors with educational and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math.

Anderson and Fox-Middleton are among 173 students selected for the first phase of the program from almost 270 applicants representing more than 100 schools. The phase one cohort now is studying an online curriculum designed by NASA and the University of Washington to examine the past, present and future of human space travel. Participating students are able to register to earn five UW credits.

Next, the top 160 students will be invited to attend phase two: summer residency sessions hosted by the museum. In each session, four student teams plan a human mission to Mars with support from professional engineers/scientists, university students and certificated educators. Additionally, participants receive briefings from aerospace professionals, tour local engineering facilities and compete in hands-on engineering challenges.