Emma Landis
Team lead
Phoenix College · NASA ASCEND
Fall 2026 launch team
ANSR-163/164 · ASCEND! 61/62
Eight students bringing together mechanical design, electronics and software for the next high-altitude balloon flight.
This semester’s work spans payload fabrication, flight software, atmospheric observations and onboard video, with support from faculty mentors and advisors.
Explore the Fall mission →
Garrett Nordmeyer
Mechanical
Jonathan Ponce
Mechanical
Jose Ocampo
Electrical
Preston Furulie
Electrical / Software
Rogelio Ramirez
Electrical
Tuan Vu
Mechanical
Xylina Delgado
Software
Faculty mentors
Dr. Eddie Ong
Science advisor
Ernest Villicaña “Mr. V”
Engineering mentor
Additional advisors
- Adam Fuge
- Jessica Frantz
- Maxx Mudd
- Tino Meza
Phoenix College · NASA ASCEND
Teams through
the years.
Students build the payload. Faculty help them turn a design into an experiment.
Explore the semester photographs and meet the mentors who support the program’s science and engineering work. Each photograph keeps its own date and caption.
In this collection
For flight results, design records and symposium presenters, open the year-by-year mission archive.
Faculty mentorship
Science and engineering, together.
Science
Dr. Eddie Ong
ASCEND faculty mentor and science advisor
Phoenix College identifies Dr. Ong as the science advisor who oversees the program’s weekly progress. He is also chair of the College’s Physical Sciences department.
Engineering
Ernest Villicaña Mr V
Engineering faculty mentor and career advisor
Mr V brings professional engineering experience to student mentorship. His work with ASCEND connects hands-on payload development with students’ education and career plans.
Semester photographs
A team record, year by year.
Names below follow the supplied photo captions. These identify people in the photographs, not a complete semester roster or attendance list for every flight.
Fall 2022 · Launch team
The 2022 PC NASA ASCEND team, left to right: Javier Chacon, Collin Montgomery, Jacob Brannon, Orion Martin, Javier Herrera, Ivan Gonzalez, Jasmin Lopez, Andrew Sherant with mentors Eddie Ong & Ernest Villicaña.
Fall 2022 · In the lab
Front from left to right: Jacob Brannon and Javier Herrera.
Back from left to right: Andrew Sherant, Ivan Gonzalez, Orion Martin, Javier Chacon.
2023
Spring team
The student team and both faculty mentors. Caption supplied by Dr. Ong.
Open the 2023 mission record →
Spring 2023 · Caption supplied by Dr. Ong
Kneeling, left to right: Orion Martin, Collin Montgomery, Javier Herrera.
Standing, left to right: Will Cohen, Ivan Gonzalez, Andrew Sherant, Lorynn Garcia, Jacob Brannon, Javier Chacon, Ernest Villicana, Ed Ong.
Names follow the supplied caption; this is not a separate flight-attendance list.
Fall 2024 · Team photograph
From left to right: Ed Ong, Ernest Villicana, Nate Okafor, Adam Fuge, Angela Trainor, Marquiz Muza, Ryan Schmidt, Elvis Garcia, Garrett Nordmeyer.
Spring 2025 · Team photograph
From left to right: Ed Ong, Ethan Pierson, Elvis Garcia, Rafael Sanchez, Adam Fuge, Marquiz Muza, Nate Okafor.
Fall 2025 · Team photograph
From left to right: Nate Okafor, Emma Landis, Ethan Pierson, Preston Furulie, Loukos Stevenson, Jose Ocampo, Adam Fuge, Garrett Nordmeyer.
Join the next team
Bring your questions. Build your skills.
Explore the work across mechanical design, electronics, software and atmospheric science, then read the current application details.