NDSU Student with NASA Experience Discusses Artemis II Mission

Senior Emily Mikhail spent the past summer working at the NASA facility in Langley, which she described as a dream come true, and says that seeing a craft back in outer space is incredibly exciting.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The nation’s eyes have been glued to the progress of the Artemis II mission.

One particularly interested person is a senior at NDSU who worked at NASA this past summer.

Emily Mikhail was named an Astronaut Scholar for 2025-26 and worked at the NASA facility in Langley, Virginia.

Her research primarily focused on lunar landers and the damaged caused by debris that is scattered as the craft lowers itself to the moon’s surface.

Emily says that working at NASA has been a lifelong dream, and fulfilling it was an emotional experience.

“Before we got a half a mile away, I saw a sign that was pointing to NASA, I just lost it. I was crying already,” she said regarding her first trip to Virginia.

She added that considers it an honor to even be in the same orbit as the Artemis project, saying, “I did help us get maybe half a millimeter of a step forward. Which is just – I love that, that’s so cool.”

Mikhail already has an internship lined up for this coming summer at Blue Origin, a private aerospace company, and she credits the academic environment at NDSU for helping her get to where she is today.