6-14-2018
In June 2018, thirty San Antonio middle school students gathered at Port San Antonio to launch a weather balloon carrying instruments to measure altitude, humidity, and pressure—soaring 100,000 feet into the stratosphere. The launch marked the completion of their first year in a four-year program run by the WEX Foundation, a nonprofit founded by space architect Samuel Ximenes to engage young students in lunar cave exploration. Scientists believe these underground lava tubes on the moon could one day house human settlers, providing natural shielding from radiation. “San Antonio has a space program,” Ximenes declared at the event, framing the initiative as workforce development to position the city as an aerospace hub.
During their first year, students tested remote sensing tools both in the stratosphere and at Robber Baron Cave, an “analog test site” for lunar conditions. Future phases of the program will teach reconnaissance and robotics, with students eventually working on cave-mapping robots. Eighth-grader Natalie Sherman called the experience exciting and unique: “How many middle schoolers get to launch a weather balloon into space?” Fellow student Nilo Mackey noted that even failed experiments taught valuable lessons about persistence and improvement. Ximenes also shared aspirations to grow the program to 130 students and forge international exchanges with space agencies in Korea, Mexico, Canada, and Europe—though he noted those efforts still need funding.