The Bigfork A.C.E.S. after-school program has announced it will be working with NASA scientists and engineers to design spacesuits and develop drag devices to allow cargo or a spacecraft to parachute onto Mars.

Bigfork A.C.E.S. was selected as one of nine educational organizations in the state to participate in the Montana 21st-Century Community Learning Centers program through the U.S. Department of Education. The partnership with NASA aims to bring science, technology, engineering and math programs to students who wouldn’t otherwise have access to such programs outside of school and students who attend schools that serve a high percentage of low-income families.

NASA scientists will visit the nine Montana communities and provide remote instruction over Skype. Students will undertake “engineering design problems that are based on real mission data and experiences encountered by NASA scientists and engineers,” according to You for Youth NASA.

Montana is one of just 15 states chosen to work with NASA.

For more information visit https://y4y.ed.gov/stemchallenge/nasa.

Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.