Alum contributes to NASA rover project
Tala Al-Saedi is encouraging Saudi women and men to consider careers in STEM
NASA’s Lunar South Pole Prospecting Rover was built by a team of six engineering students, including Saudi aerospace engineer Tala Al-Saedi.
While eager first-year college students were all looking down at their catalogs to select a major, Tala Al-Saedi was looking up at the stars.
A 2024 graduate of the University of Arizona where she majored in aerospace engineering, for her senior design project Al-Saedi was chosen by the dean of engineering to be part of a NASA-sponsored project, the Lunar South Pole Prospecting Rover.
The Lunar South Pole Prospecting Rover, built by a team of six engineering students, “was designed to explore the lunar south pole and prospect resources such as water and ice, which could be crucial for sustaining a human presence on the moon.” According to Al-Saedi, the project is well aligned with NASA’s Artemis Plan, which in 2026 is scheduled to land the first woman and first person of color on the moon.
"I believe we’re entering a new era where possibilities for innovation and discovery are greater than ever before," Al-Saedi said.
Al-Saedi and her work on NASA's Lunar South Pole Prospecting Rover was featured in Arab News.