Riley Nuttycombe, a senior at Boulder’s New Vista High School, applied on a whim for an opportunity to experience what it might be like to live on Mars through a NASA-sponsored program called Spaceward Bound.

She was chosen out of about 200 applicants to visit the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, where she was part of the program’s first crew of high school students in 2022. As part of the weeklong simulation, she said, she and six other high school students donned fishbowl space helmets that were awkward and uncomfortable. But that experience sparked an idea to design something better.

“I did not like the helmets,” she said. “One fogs up and gets hot. The other is very heavy. It pushes your head forward. It tips with you if you try to bend down. And you cannot adjust the air flow.”She started her independent research project by modifying a snorkeling mask, including attaching a fan in a backpack to provide oxygen. Other iterations included using foam clay inside the mask to create a better fit, but once the foam dried it was too stiff. So she used yoga mat foam instead, adding it to a plastic face mask she created with design software and printed on a 3D printer. She then sewed on cloth hoods, made of linen and window insulation, to hold the mask in place. An earpiece is attached inside, while an electrical box she designed powers the fan.

“I completely customized my own design,” she said.

She had an opportunity to test her original snorkel mask design during a second Spaceward Bound trip in 2023, but a planned third trip as part of the high school program was canceled. Instead, she was able to join a team of K-12 educators last month to test her newest design.

Because that trip only included a two-day simulation, she said, she didn’t collect as much data as she wanted. So this week, with the help of three testers recruited by her mom, she collected additional data. The testers walked and picked up rocks and sticks along a trail near Marshall Mesa while wearing the different helmets, then provided feedback on comfort, visibility, airflow and mobility.

Based on all her testing, she said, her helmets are more comfortable and allow the wearer to maintain higher blood-oxygen counts.

The biggest difference between her design and the bubble helmets, she said, is how air circulates. Her helmets are divided into two sections, the helm and the mask. The helm covers the top and sides of the head, while the mask just covers the mouth and nose. The air is cycled in through the top of the helm and through the top of the mask, exiting through the sides of the mask. One-way valves make sure the “used” air is cycled out.

She’s using her helmet design work to meet New Vista’s culminating project requirement, which includes providing evidence of learning, completing 120 hours of work, spending at least five hours with a mentor and writing a three-page reflection. She also will present her project to staff members, as well as to her classmates at New Vista’s senior exhibition day in May.

Next, she’s planning to complete an academic presentation with the hope of securing an opportunity to test her helmets at the Biosphere 2 research facility in Arizona. Ultimately, she said, she would like to receive funding to build a realistic prototype of a full space suit.

“I want to continue working on it,” she said. “I eventually want a pressure-tight, real space suit prototype.”

In the meantime, she’s planning to finish a science fiction novel, take a gap year to study abroad in Finland and then enroll in college either in the United States or Europe. Her dream is to work in aerospace.

“Given the opportunity, I would totally go to space,” she said. “But I’m more likely to work on the engineering side to help astronauts.”