• Facebook
  • Mail
  • District Home
  • Our Schools
  • Staff Resources
  • Facebook
  • Mail
District Phone: 541.276.6711
Pendleton School District
  • Home
  • Our District
    • District Information
      • 2021-22 PSD COVID-19 News & Resources
      • Annual Division 22 Standards Report
      • Calendars
      • Continuity of Services Plan
      • District News & Announcements
      • Education Links and Resources
      • Elementary Schools Boundary Map
      • Explore Pendleton
      • Immunization Reports
      • Key Communicators
      • Staff in the Spotlight
      • Strategic Plan
      • Student Investment Account (SIA)
      • Umatilla County School Districts Map
    • Departments
      • Administrative Team
      • Business Office
        • Budget Information
        • Payroll
      • Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment
      • Facilities
        • Community Use of School Building
      • Human Resources
      • Special Programs
    • Our Schools
      • Pendleton Early Learning Center
      • McKay Elementary School
      • Sherwood Elementary School
      • Washington Elementary School
      • Sunridge Middle School
      • Pendleton High School
      • Hawthorne Alternative High School
      • Pendleton Virtual Learning Academy
  • Parent Resources
    • 2022-23 School Supply List
    • Annual State School Report Cards
    • Calendars
    • Closures & Delays
    • Conscious Discipline
    • Food Services
    • Health & Safe Schools Information
    • Impact Aid Policy and Procedures
    • Local Wellness Program
    • Parents Guide to Google, Chromebooks & iPads
    • Parent Links & Resources
    • ParentVUE
    • Smarter Balanced Assessment
    • Student Transfers
    • Student Transportation
    • Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Post Crisis Plan
    • Title VI Grant Program
  • School Board
    • Board Goals
    • Board Meetings
    • Board Members
    • Board Policies
  • Employment
  • School Safety
    • Report a Concern – SafeOregon
    • District Safety Procedures
    • Parents Safety Procedures
    • Superintendent’s School Safety Reminders
    • Safety Policies
    • Safe Schools Committee
  • Contact Us
    • District Office Staff Directory
    • Community Use of School Building
    • Report a Concern
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

NASA Engineer Explores Mars with Washington Students

The planet Mars is millions of miles from Earth, but for Aaron Yazzie, a Mechanical Engineer at NASA, looking at the terrain of the red planet reminds him of the place he grew up. Yazzie is Dine’ (Navajo) and grew up in Holbrook, Arizona, a small community bordering the Navajo Nation in northern Arizona.

Yazzie gave a virtual presentation about his job and experiences at NASA to more than 150 fourth and fifth grade students at Washington Elementary School on Wednesday, November 17th. Among his first slides were photos showing his Navajo homeland – rocky mesas, rough canyons, and layers of sandstone – next to photos sent back to Earth from Mars. The photos showed very similar scenes. “I am very familiar with this type of landscape, buttes and sandstone and red ground,” Yazzie said.

At the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Yazzie designs mechanical systems for NASA’s robotic space research missions. His most recent project was on the Mars 2020 “Perseverance” Rover where he was the lead engineer for the Rover’s drill bits that the vehicle uses to search for ancient microbial life on Mars. During his virtual presentation to the students, he talked about the complex engineering and components that he and his team designed for the Perseverance, many made from titanium to withstand extreme temperatures of 81 degrees below zero on Mars.

The seven-feet- tall Rover has a long arm with a turret containing multiple tools like cameras and drill bits, which it uses to drill into rocks on the planet’s surface and retrieve cylinders of material it stores in tubes. These materials will eventually return to Earth so scientists can study them to learn more about Mars, as well as more about our own planet since both are terrestrial or rock planets with a core, mantle, and crust.

Millions of years ago, Mars contained a lot of water, so researchers and scientists are searching for fossils in large craters that used to be full of water. The Perseverance Rover was launched on July 30, 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Yazzie said despite the circumstances here on Earth, the team had to adhere to the timeline when Earth and Mars are closest together in their orbits or they would have been required to wait two more years. After seven months of hurtling through space, the Rover landed on Mars on February 18, 2021. Since, then, the helicopter sent with the Rover has flown 14 times to gather videos, and many samples have been taken with the Rover’s multiple drill bits designed by Yazzie’s team. “To be able to work on something that is going to touch down on another planet is really cool and exciting. In my job, I don’t do the same things every day, so it never gets boring,” Yazzie said.

Shawndine Jones, Walk to Language Teacher at Washington Elementary, is a colleague and friend of Yazzie and arranged the virtual opportunity for students. The timing of the presentation was fortuitous – Washington fourth graders just read a unit about Mars and November is Native American Heritage Month. Yazzie said he is very grateful for his parents and great grandparents who stayed strong through difficult times to help him succeed. “I would not be here working at NASA if generations before me had not persevered to help me succeed.”

Yazzie is passionate about STEM outreach to students of all ages, especially those from Indigenous Communities. In 2019 he received the NASA JPL Bruce Murray Award “for outstanding and consistent dedication in promoting inclusion and excitement in science and education especially among Indigenous Communities.”

NASA Virtual Presentation

Latest Radio Spot

https://pendleton.k12.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/46777-PSD-Fall-Client.mp3
Download PDF version Here
View Past Radio Spots Here

Latest PSD News

  • Class of 2022PHS Graduation Live Stream – June 4, 2022June 3, 2022 - 4:20 pm
  • Carly ElderSMS Choir with Carly ElderJune 1, 2022 - 8:19 am
  • Mark Mulvihill and Lori HaleLori Hale Receives Crystal Apple Leadership AwardMay 26, 2022 - 7:54 am
  • Chris FritschSuperintendent Message – May 25, 2022May 25, 2022 - 8:50 am
  • ODS Buildings DedicationOutdoor School 50 Years CelebrationMay 23, 2022 - 5:29 pm
  • SMS Fight Song PlaqueSMS Fight SongMay 20, 2022 - 11:10 am

News Archives

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020

Upcoming Events

Loading view.
  • District Wide
  • Early Learning Center
  • Hawthorne High School
  • McKay Elementary School
  • Pendleton High School
  • Sherwood Elementary School
  • Sunridge Middle School
  • Washington Elementary School
  • August 2022

Calendar of Events

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

S Sun

0 events, 1

0 events, 2

0 events, 3

0 events, 4

0 events, 5

0 events, 6

0 events, 7

0 events, 8

0 events, 9

0 events, 10

0 events, 11

0 events, 12

0 events, 13

0 events, 14

1 event, 15

2022-08-15

First Day of Fall Sports

First Day of Fall Sports

August 15

First Day of Fall Sports

Athletes must have the following to participate on August 15, 2022: Completed online or updated registration Medical insurance Eligible (within 2 years) sports physical on OSAA form revised May 2016, […]

4 events, 16

7:00 am - 1:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16 @ 7:00 am - 1:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16th:  7 am - 1 pm and 2 pm - 7 pm

7:30 am - 11:00 am

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 7:30 am - 11:00 am

SMS Registration

August 16th: 7:30 - 11 and 1 - 7 August 17th: 7:30 - 1 and 3 - 7

1:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16th: 7:30 - 11 and 1 - 7 August 17th: 7:30 - 1 and 3 - 7

2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16 @ 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16th:  7 am - 1 pm and 2 pm - 7 pm

2 events, 17

7:30 am - 1:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 17 @ 7:30 am - 1:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16th: 7:30 - 11 and 1 - 7 August 17th: 7:30 - 1 and 3 - 7

3:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 17 @ 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16th: 7:30 - 11 and 1 - 7 August 17th: 7:30 - 1 and 3 - 7

0 events, 18

0 events, 19

0 events, 20

0 events, 21

0 events, 22

0 events, 23

1 event, 24

2022-08-24

Certified Staff In-Service

Certified Staff In-Service

August 24

Certified Staff In-Service

1 event, 25

2022-08-25

All Staff In-Service

All Staff In-Service

August 25

All Staff In-Service

1 event, 26

2022-08-26

All Staff In-Service

All Staff In-Service

August 26

All Staff In-Service

0 events, 27

0 events, 28

2 events, 29

2022-08-29

All Staff In-Service

All Staff In-Service

August 29

All Staff In-Service

9:00 am - 2:00 pm

PHS Link Crew

August 29 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

PHS Link Crew

Freshmen only.  BBQ lunch will be served.  Students will not need paper, books, backpacks, etc.

1 event, 30

2022-08-30

School Begins

School Begins

August 30

School Begins

0 events, 31

0 events, 1

0 events, 2

0 events, 3

0 events, 4

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
August 16
August 16 @ 7:00 am - 1:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16 @ 7:30 am - 11:00 am

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 17
August 17 @ 7:30 am - 1:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 15
All day

First Day of Fall Sports

August 16
August 16 @ 7:00 am - 1:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 16 @ 7:30 am - 11:00 am

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 16 @ 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm

PHS Registration

August 17
August 17 @ 7:30 am - 1:00 pm

SMS Registration

August 17 @ 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm

SMS Registration

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
August 24
All day

Certified Staff In-Service

August 25
All day

All Staff In-Service

August 26
All day

All Staff In-Service

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
August 29
All day

All Staff In-Service

August 29 @ 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

PHS Link Crew

August 30
All day

School Begins

  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
  • There are no events on this day.
View Calendar
psd shield logo

Pendleton School District
107 NW 10th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801
Phone:  541.276.6711  Fax:  541.278.3208

The Pendleton School District assures that no person shall on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability or income as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related authorities, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any Pendleton School District sponsored program or activity.

Accessibility Statement   |   Nondiscrimination Policy   |  USDA Nondiscrimination Statement  |  Public Complaint Procedure  |  Safe Oregon
© Pendleton School District 16R. All Rights Reserved

Giving Thanks at Pendleton High SchoolHappy ThanksgivingHappy ThanksgivingGiving Thanks at Hawthorne Alt School
Scroll to top