Space simulation missions completed, New Vista graduate sets sights on next adventure

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Riley Nuttycombe, a graduating senior at New Vista High School, is relieved to be finished with high school, after a year of working on her culminating senior project. But not because she’s tired of learning, she’s ready for the next challenge.

“I definitely feel a little bit relieved to be done,” said Nuttycombe, as she prepares to move to Finland after graduation through a study abroad collegiate program. She’ll begin living in Finland this August, which she said attracted her thanks to its unique school system, which reminds her of New Vista’s original learning environment.

“I joined New Vista in 10th grade after homeschooling before that. We chose New Vista because their model is a lot closer to a homeschool model, which is also similar to the Finnish school system.” Which involves a more flexible approach to academics, with more student autonomy and personalized instruction.

Nuttycombe enrolled in New Vista following the years of COVID-19 online learning, seeking a new social group and a building-based school experience before heading to college.

What she didn’t expect was that her time there would culminate in a senior project about space suit design, and multiple visits to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in Utah, the second of four simulated Mars habitats in the world, built and managed by the Mars Society.

A new frontier

“One of my mom’s friends came across this program for high school students to be part of a mission at the MDRS, sent it to my mom and was like “your kid is interested in space, maybe she would like this?”, said Nuttycombe. “I really had no idea what it was, but I applied anyway.”

The opportunity was for a NASA-sponsored program called Spaceward Bound, where students were selected from about 200 applicants to visit the MDRS as part of the program’s first high school crew in 2022.

Nuttycombe’s interest in space started at a very young age.

“I was barely old enough to talk when my parents took me to see an astronaut speaking on the CU campus, and I told him we should build skyscrapers on the moon because there was less gravity,” she laughed.  She even remembers the astronaut’s name she saw, Benjamin Alvin Drew, who participated in two space flights and spacewalks in the early 2000s.

Her interest was reignited in middle school after watching the Star Trek science fiction series.

When asked what made her apply to a program that others may have found intimidating she said, “fear of rejection has never held me back—all the application required was three letters, one from the student (me), one from a parent and one from a teacher and to send it in.”

She received the news that she had been selected for the program, and discovered that her fellow crewmate students shared an interest in space but featured a broad range of other unique backgrounds to bring different perspectives to the experience and share with the whole crew.

“We were all from very different places: the U.S., one person from Hungary, our commander Sergi from Ukraine, and other people from around the world on the crew, everyone had very different views, very different life experiences,” Nuttycombe shared. “We only met over zoom prior to the mission, and then on site lived in a tiny apartment to replicate the feeling of a real space mission, enclosed together in tight quarters.”

She says the simulation of the MDRS was very realistic in a lot of ways. “If you use your imagination just a little bit, it comes to life: the landscape, the station, the people, we all took it seriously and had as much fun as we could.”

“The first mission none of us had projects, we just learned about the station, analog simulations, and crew compositions, how you would assemble a crew to go to Mars, what kind of people, what kind of screening would be needed, and individual crew roles. I was the space suit officer.”

Seeking spacesuit solutions

It was this first mission role that helped her identify a problem first-hand. The space suit helmets she and the crew wore on site were uncomfortable and difficult to manage.

When she was invited back for a second mission, this time they were asked to create project proposals and bring the projects to the station. She knew her goal, to create and customize a better fitting and functioning space helmet. 

Nuttycombe started by modifying a snorkel mask, and attaching a fan with a backpack for oxygen. She then tried using foam clay for a better fit, but found yoga mat material a better substitute. With some additional modifications from a 3D printer, and an electrical box to power the fan, her prototype was in motion.

Unfortunately the second mission to test her helmet design at MDRS in 2023 was cancelled, but she got a second chance to visit and test her design this spring, She was also able to conduct testing with other educators and local friends at Marshall Mesa. 

 

Testing to date demonstrates that Nuttycombe’s new helmet design is more comfortable for the wearer and allows for higher blood oxygen counts, both important improvements for the astronauts.

Her work on the project is also serving as her high school culminating senior project at New Vista, which requires evidence of learning, 120 hours of completed work, mentor meetings and a written reflection. She presented her final project to staff members and classmates at the school’s senior exhibition day in May.

For the future of her project Nuttycombe shares, “I got a lot of feedback that I’ll continue working on and updating the design, but it will be on hold now until I get back from Finland. My hope is to design a full space suit eventually.”

She says she would jump at the chance to go to space in the future, but could mostly envision herself supporting engineering and technology in space exploration.

“In a perfect world after Finland I might come back here and would love to run more high school crews at that site,” says Nuttycombe. “Apply for funding, apply for a mission, assemble more high school crews and command, so that other people can have that experience as well as there aren’t any more high school crews planned for now.”

Watch her feature on CBS Colorado: Colorado high school senior working to upgrade spacesuit designs

Her main takeaway from the experience is “anything is possible”. 

When asked what she would share with other BVSD students about her experience she said, “you don’t have to be someone important to do cool things and achieve things, you don't need a fancy degree to contribute to something—just go for it.”

Reflections on New Vista

As she concludes her time at New Vista High School she says she’ll miss her teachers the most, “they’re all amazing and so supportive and teach really cool stuff —they’re fun.”

Specifically her advisor and New Vista science teacher, Dustin Bailey was hugely supportive during her time in high school.

“He has been so encouraging and supported me through school, with my whole senior culminating panel and culminating projects. He’s a friendly face and very fun, he teaches useful skills that don’t often get taught in school, and is our ultimate frisbee coach,” said Nuttycombe. 

She played ultimate frisbee all three years at New Vista, with this being the first year the school has had an individual girls team instead of co-ed, of which she is co-captain. 

The halls of New Vista will surely miss Nuttycombe’s influence and confidence next year, but her example of what can happen when you ‘go for it’ will continue to set the stage for future students of the school.