Axe ’Em, Jacks!
How two SFA alumnae contribute to NASA's Artemis mission
Story by Alyssa Faykus '19
Photos and illustrations courtesy of NASA and Johnson Space Center
If an average person asked them what they do for work, Sarah Walton '21 & '23 and Kyla Gray '22 would likely tell you they are planetary geospatial scientists at NASA. What they actually do at the space and aeronautics agency is far more awe-inspiring than that.
"I usually say I look at pictures to help land people on the moon," Walton said of her job in simple terms. "We mainly work with lunar data on the team that does landing site assessments for future lunar landers. We provide geospatial and geologic consultation on geospatial data products. We do a lot of things, but that's the main goal."
Both women contribute to the Artemis III, IV and V campaigns. According to NASA, the goal of these campaigns is to explore the moon for scientific discovery, technological advancement, and increased knowledge of how to live and work on another world as NASA prepares for human missions to Mars.
The Artemis III mission, set to launch in 2027, has identified a set of nine potential landing regions near the lunar south pole. The selection of these potential landing regions is aided by research to which Walton and Gray are regularly contributing.
"My job duties include providing civil servants and various other programs with geospatial data and its interpretation," Gray said. "So that can include many different services. Landing site interpretation is one of those, and various other works with data science as well."
The lunar south pole, which has never been explored by a crewed mission, contains permanently shadowed areas that can preserve resources, including water. The future collection of samples and data from this region, which contains some of the oldest parts of the moon estimated to be at least 3.85 billion years old, will help scientists better understand fundamental planetary processes that operate across the solar system and beyond.
Written in the stars
Floating around in her head from a young age, Gray had inklings of one day becoming a scientist.
"Very early on, I really wanted to work in space. When I was in kindergarten, they put us on stage and told us to say what we wanted to be. I said scientist," Gray said.
With knowledge about her dad's career in oil and gas, she knew that field had potential for her start as a scientist. But geology, especially planetary geology, was always in mind.
"I knew that I wanted to do something in the discipline, and I knew a good way for me to be a scientist was in oil and gas, and my backup plan was geology," Gray added. "I knew what geology was and the different things that you can do engineering-wise, but then learning there was the field of planetary geology as well — that was what hit home for me."
Gray started her job with Amentum, a U.S. government and commercial services contractor, as a geospatial scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center in June 2024 after stints as a mud logger in West Texas and working on oil rigs. She earned her Bachelor of Science in geology in 2022 from SFA.
"I have always very much loved planetary data. I remember my first class at SFA — Wesley Turner [lecturer of earth sciences and geologic resources] was my intro to geology professor, and he showed us the different types of geologists. One of those types was a planetary geologist," she said. "I always thought that was very interesting, and that was just my first semester."
When Gray was a junior, Dr. Mindy Faulkner, her advisor and an associate professor of earth sciences and geologic resources, encouraged her to pick a research topic that interested her if she could find the data. Gray found moon data made accessible to the public through NASA — data similar to what she uses in her job today.
"They let me run with it, so I'm very appreciative of SFA's geology department for letting us follow our interests," Gray said.
Going beyond Texas pines
Inspired by her mentors at SFA, Walton's journey to geospatial space data exploration was sparked by research opportunities and supportive faculty members. Earning her Bachelor of Science in geology in 2021 and Master of Science in geology in 2023, she started her job with Amentum at NASA's Johnson Space Center in May 2023.
Walton also credits Turner, as well as Faulkner and Dr. Kevin Stafford, associate professor of geology, with helping influence the development of her interests.
"Mr. Turner taught the introduction to planetary geology class I took and had really been a mentor for me on this journey," Walton said. "[The class] combined my love for space science, which I knew I wanted to pursue, and my love for geology into this one big nebula of planetary geology.
"My graduate advisors, Drs. Stafford and Faulkner, really enabled me in grad school to do that independent research, to ask those important questions and really delve into a field. They knew I had that foundation and that I could go on and do great things."
Walton found her career path through friends at SFA who researched internship opportunities during their master's degree programs in hopes of finding their calling.
"I applied to an internship at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where I worked with Mars rover data doing geospatial analysis, and I really enjoyed it and really thrived," Walton said. "That was the moment for me where dreams became a reality and I knew I could pursue that kind of career path."
The scope of the mission
Space exploration leaves a lasting impression on the world through its scientific and cultural victories. The Artemis generation will see the first woman and person of color land on the moon with an international partner astronaut, according to NASA. This will be the first moon landing in more than 50 years, making history with every step.
"My favorite thing about my job is that every single thing is a historical contribution," Gray said. "This is the second time we've tried to go back to the moon. It's a completely different world than it was in the 1960s. It feels like every day when you interpret an image or finalize a landing site interpretation, you contribute to how we're going to get to the moon."
Walton enjoys having a hand in the "hundreds-, thousands-of-people effort" that is creating history. She encourages other women to take the leap, even when they're scared.
"Seek out new opportunities," she said. "My motto in life is do things that make you scared, do things that make you anxious because then you'll do it and you won't be so anxious about it. That was definitely my biggest hurdle coming into this position. I was scared of that imposter syndrome, scared I wouldn't be good enough. But once you realize you are and once you actually do those things, you can do anything.
"Stay curious, take risks."
