David at NASA

From June 2023 to June 2024, I had the privilege to intern at NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. To support the NASA GEODES division (Geophysical Exploration of the Dynamics and Evolution of the Solar System)as a digital design and public engagement intern. Working directly with the digital media lead and voice of “NASA Moon” on Twitter, Molly Wasser.

A little about me

I am a designer, computer scientist, and photographer.

I recently graduated from the University of Maryland, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Immersive Media Design.

I love to apply my interdisciplinary skills throughout the design process, from conception to marketing and back-end implementation. I'm a hands-on individual who enjoys being deeply involved in every stage of a project.

At NASA…

I joined the GEODES team for a field research trip where I followed the team, collecting photographs, videos, and even joined in on the field experiments.

ARDVARC

Thats me!

For 3 days on this trip, I joined Zachary Robert Morse, an assistant research scientist, who led the Augmented Reality Data Visualization Analog Research Campaign (ARDVARC). I got hands-on experience with the team as they captured aerial data to then transform for augmented reality methodologies. As a drone operator myself, and also have training in building augmented reality programs from my schooling. I connected extremely well with Zaachary and his team. Gaining hands-on experience and knowledge on building platforms and experiences meant for the training of future astronauts.

David Obajemu

I explored lava tubes!

The Lava tube was completely pitch black and ironically very cold. I was able to contribute to the research by capturing photos of the fractures and the measurements for this team. I also brought along a 360 camera and created an immersive video of the entire experience. For the public to use.

Led by Edward Williams, this team surveyed four sites inside the Lava River tube for fractures.

Explore the Lava tube yourself in this 360 video!

(pssst… you can use your cursor to drag the view )

David Obajemu

In the weeks leading up to the spacecraft's return, Meta would collaborate with NASA to create an augmented reality application for Instagram. This program would allow users to interact with a detailed simulation of the capsule and the asteroid in augmented reality.

The planets aligned.

Sunday, September 24, 2023

I couldn’t have picked a better time to be an intern at NASA. A spacecraft dubbed OSIRIS-REx was due to return to Earth carrying inside of it a sample from an asteroid called Bennu. Bennu is a small asteroid that’s shaped like a spinning top and is rich in carbon.

The mission was the first time the United States had successfully collected and returned a sample from an asteroid.

(Interact with the asteroid!)

The META engineers would contact the GEODES team to receive feedback on the application. Because of my background in UX and AR development, I had the opportunity to provide direct input on the application's development. This was such an exciting experience because it gave me invaluable experience and real-time exposure into what collaborating with a cross-functional team to work on a large-scale product, reaching millions worldwide.