{"id":123369,"date":"2021-10-05T14:19:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T18:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=123369"},"modified":"2022-08-15T09:42:12","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T13:42:12","slug":"keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When <strong>Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921<\/strong> was a child, she remembers holding her brother\u2019s hand in the mountainous Orocovis region in Puerto Rico where she grew up and looking up on a clear night as the International Space Station flew overhead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat day, my parents explained to me its purpose and all the experiments and investigations conducted; this is where all my interest in space came from,\u201d Latorre-Suarez says.<\/p>\n<p>Her passion was further fueled by an eager schoolteacher who encouraged her to pursue science, a trip to Kennedy Space Center during a family vacation and visits to the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which 166su manages for the U.S. National Science Foundation.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the mechanical engineering alum is earning a master\u2019s degree in aerospace engineering at 166su. Her current area of research is 3D printing sensors, made in space, that will monitor the structural integrity of the components and vehicles used by explorers on other planets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy biggest goal is to be able to collaborate on space missions, such as the Artemis moon mission,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to ensure astronauts\u2019 safety while exploring other planetary surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Latorre-Suarez, who was recently named a 2021 X-Force Fellow by the National Security Innovation Network and the Department of Defense and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/10-ucf-graduate-students-awarded-florida-space-grant-consortium-fellowships\/\">NASA Florida Space Grant Consortium Fellow<\/a>, chose 166su because of its excellent and supportive faculty, she says. As an outstanding student she had plenty of options.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c166su has amazing professors, such as Dr. (Seetha) Raghavan, that are always willing to help their students to achieve their goals,\u201d she says. \u201c166su has given me the opportunity to grow as a professional and as a person. By having the opportunity to lead research projects, I am improving my skills in research, time management, teamwork, communication and more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Latorre-Suarez credits Raghavan with her pursuit of space-related research at 166su. They connected after Latorre-Suarez transferred to 166su from Polk State College. The eager undergraduate was asked to help graduate students with their research on the structural integrity of aircraft. Together they pursued 3D printing and later determined they could probably use an autonomous application method for space missions. It is work Latorre-Suarez continues today because she knows it will make a difference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExploring space is important because we can get many answers that we will not be able to get here on Earth,\u201d she says. \u201cWe can get answers about the history of our solar system and understand its formation. Through these answers, we will be able to expand technologies that will benefit us here on Earth as well as lend to further exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>166su graduate student <strong>Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921<\/strong> is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":123370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,23,27],"tags":[973,11,982,1775,14916,4361],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-123369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-research","category-student-life","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-graduate-studies","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-florida-space-instit","tag-research","tag-space"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds | 166su News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UCF News | 166su Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/166su\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zenaida Kotala\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@166su\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@166su\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zenaida Kotala\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zenaida Kotala\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e\"},\"headline\":\"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":436,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/20\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"College of Engineering and Computer Science\",\"College of Graduate Studies\",\"College of Sciences\",\"Florida Space institute\",\"Research\",\"space\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Colleges &amp; Campus\",\"Research\",\"Student Life\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/\",\"name\":\"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds | 166su News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/20\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e\"},\"description\":\"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/20\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/20\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"UCF News | 166su Today\",\"description\":\"Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e\",\"name\":\"Zenaida Kotala\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zenaida Kotala\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zkotala\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\\\/#local-main-organization-logo\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\",\"caption\":\"UCF\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds | 166su News","description":"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds","og_description":"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/","og_site_name":"UCF News | 166su Today","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/166su","article_published_time":"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Zenaida Kotala","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@166su","twitter_site":"@166su","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zenaida Kotala","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/"},"author":{"name":"Zenaida Kotala","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e"},"headline":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds","datePublished":"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/"},"wordCount":436,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg","keywords":["College of Engineering and Computer Science","College of Graduate Studies","College of Sciences","Florida Space institute","Research","space"],"articleSection":["Colleges &amp; Campus","Research","Student Life"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/","name":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds | 166su News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-05T18:19:53+00:00","dateModified":"2022-08-15T13:42:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e"},"description":"UCF graduate student Perla Latorre-Suarez \u201921 is investigating 3D-printed sensors that could help monitor and alert astronauts to problems during space missions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez.jpg","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Keeping Astronauts Safe While They Explore Other Worlds"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/","name":"UCF News | 166su Today","description":"Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/4f0fdedfa744a8bfddd06132e6ce9b5e","name":"Zenaida Kotala","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b942e6b48d92cfeb8c940ffaf4efc2f77419a530cc2bd85f06c36bbffea9b02a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zenaida Kotala"},"url":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/author\/zkotala\/"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/keeping-astronauts-safe-while-they-explore-other-worlds\/#local-main-organization-logo","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"UCF"}]}},"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2021\/10\/WEBPerlaLatorreSuarez-300x200.jpg","primary_category":27,"primary_tag":4361,"author_byline":"Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123369"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":130599,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123369\/revisions\/130599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123369"},{"taxonomy":"tu_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tu_author?post=123369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}