A Rice University student says her NASA internship has shown her that problem-solving is rarely an individual effort. Malvika Bhardwaj, who studies computational and applied mathematics, interns with the Guidance, Navigation & Control team at NASA's Johnson Space Center. In an article published Oct. 27 to mark National Mentoring Day, she described how her mentor, engineer Daniel Cohen, introduced her to the team and included her in conversations and meetings.

Bhardwaj is developing tools to analyze thruster firings on the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, which is intended to help NASA safely deorbit the International Space Station at the end of its operational life. She also uses computer simulations to test the vehicle's control system and identify conditions under which it could fail. Cohen, a Rice alumnus who joined Johnson as a full-time engineer in August 2024, works on simulations and models for deorbit vehicle studies, analyzes its control algorithms and performance, and evaluates SpaceX's design at multiple reviews. He also analyzes settings for the Orion docking camera, which provides positioning measurements that can inform navigation during future Artemis rendezvous activities.

Cohen sets aside a couple of hours each week to teach interns topics such as orbital mechanics and control systems, and led an outdoor lesson on Oct. 9. Asked whether he had time to keep teaching given his workload, he replied, "You decide what's important." Bhardwaj said she was proud to complete her first project, a set of analysis tools built from scratch, and advises students to apply for NASA internships even if they do not feel fully prepared.