WELLINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- A second cohort of high-performing New Zealand tertiary students and recent graduates are set to wing their way to California to participate in the NASA International Internship Program, a government statement said on Tuesday.
Three young Kiwis from across New Zealand will travel to NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, with financial support from the New Zealand Space Scholarship.
Their internships will last 16 weeks until December, during which they will work on projects on rotorcraft aeromechanics, novel media data visualization and finding Earth and super-Earth sized planets hundreds of light years away, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford said in a statement.
"It is great to see Kiwi students grabbing hold of this opportunity to learn from some of the best in the space technology field," Twyford said.
"There are few places in the world where they could get an experience like this. The government is committed to building an innovative space industry in New Zealand and the skills, knowledge and connections interns will bring home and share will help us build our space capability and inspire more young people to get involved in the sector," he said.
The new group follows in the footsteps of the first four Kiwi students to participate in the International Internship Program from June to August this year. Interns were selected from a pool of 250 applicants by the New Zealand Space Agency.
"The first four interns have described an amazing and valuable experience," the minister said.
