Malibu High School 10th-grader Ashley Wallach was named a national winner of the 2015-16 Cassini Scientist for a Day essay contest run by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Wallach’s essay was chosen from 1,150 essays submitted by students in grades five through 12 from across 31 states. A team of judges consisting of scientists, engineers and educators chose one winner per topic from each age category. Wallach wrote her essay about Jupiter.
The contest was named after the Cassini spacecraft that has been observing Saturn and its moons and rings since it entered the planet’s orbit in 2004. The spacecraft has made discoveries to improve scientists’ understanding of Saturn’s ring system.