Reaching for the Stars: Aletta Bartok Named 2026 Astronaut Scholar

For Aletta Bartok, the path to becoming a 2026 Astronaut Scholar began long before college laboratories, supercomputers, or aerospace mission concepts. It started with family road trips along Minnesota's North Shore, bags full of rocks collected from beaches and trails, and a childhood fascination with understanding how the world, and worlds beyond our own, work.

Now a rising senior pursuing dual degrees in Chemistry and Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Aletta has earned one of the nation's most prestigious undergraduate STEM honors. The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, established by the Mercury 7 astronauts to support exceptional students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, selected Aletta as a member of its 2026-27 cohort. The scholarship provides up to $15,000 in support, along with access to mentorship, networking opportunities, and professional development experiences with leaders across academia, industry, and the aerospace sector.

Science has been a constant presence in Aletta’s life for as long as she can remember. Growing up in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, she spent countless hours exploring the natural world, conducting homemade experiments, and imagining how things worked beneath the Earth's surface and beyond its atmosphere. Family movie nights often featured science-themed adventures and disaster films, sparking questions that would send her searching for answers. "I was always collecting rocks, building my own gadgets, learning about planes, and mixing things together to recreate my own laboratory experiments," she recalls.

One of her favorite childhood memories remains trips to northern Minnesota, where her fascination with geology was impossible to contain. "I vividly remember traveling up to the North Shore and coming back with so many bags of rocks that the weight visibly pressed down the back of my family's car." Those experiences nurtured a lifelong interest in science, but they also revealed something equally important: the power of encouragement. Aletta credits her family and teachers with helping her recognize that a future in STEM was not only possible but attainable.

As she progressed through high school, participation in the Science Olympiad and mentorship from teachers helped transform a general love of science into a clearer vision for her future. While she knew she wanted a STEM career, determining exactly where her interests would lead took time. That process of exploration would ultimately become one of the defining themes of her academic journey.

Like many students interested in aerospace, Aletta initially believed aerospace engineering would be the most direct route to achieving her goals. When she applied to colleges, she intended to major in engineering at every institution. Yet during her senior year of high school, a mechanical engineering-focused course prompted her to reconsider. "I quickly realized that the mechanical field of engineering did not align with my interests," she says. Rather than seeing that realization as a setback, Aletta viewed it as an opportunity to rethink how she could best prepare for a career in the aerospace and space industries. At the University of Minnesota, she found the freedom to chart a different course. By combining Earth Sciences and Chemistry, she was able to merge two longstanding passions: her fascination with geology and her interest in understanding matter at its most fundamental level. "The University of Minnesota was uniquely enthusiastic about this path and gave me the academic freedom to pursue a dual major, which is exactly why I chose to attend."

That decision has proven transformative. Through coursework, research, and relationships with faculty and students in both departments, Aletta has developed an interdisciplinary perspective that allows her to connect concepts across traditional academic boundaries. Learning where geoscience and chemistry intersect has provided a foundation uniquely suited to her long-term aspirations in space and aerospace research. It has also reinforced an important lesson: many of the most compelling scientific questions require expertise that spans multiple fields.

For the past three years, Aletta has worked with Professor Marc Hirschmann in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, conducting research focused on exoplanet geochemistry. Her work investigates the development of early planets, particularly those with atmospheres rich in carbon. Using computational tools and the resources of the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, she developed code capable of modeling planetary formation and evolution for planets larger than the Earth, but smaller than Neptune. The research sits at the intersection of geology, chemistry, planetary science, and computation, an ideal fit for someone who has intentionally built her education around connecting disciplines.

The work also reflects a broader motivation that has guided much of Aletta's undergraduate experience: preparing herself to contribute meaningfully to humanity's understanding of space. Whether through research, technical projects, or leadership opportunities, she has consistently sought experiences that deepen both her scientific expertise and her ability to lead complex initiatives. Her involvement with the University's Rocket Team, where she earned her Level 1 High Power Rocketry certification and later mentored younger students, exemplifies that approach. This spring, she also led a team through NASA's L'SPACE Mission Concept Academy, helping develop a viable space mission concept while gaining experience in the collaborative environment that defines modern aerospace projects. Together, these experiences have allowed Aletta to move beyond classroom learning and engage directly with the types of challenges she hopes to tackle throughout her career.

Scientific achievement is only one part of Aletta's story. Equally notable is her commitment to leadership and community-building. As President and Treasurer of the University of Minnesota Geological Society, a teaching assistant for chemistry courses, and a mentor to younger students involved in rocketry, she has consistently embraced opportunities to help others succeed.

Interestingly, leadership was not something she consciously set out to pursue. "My interest and natural pull towards leadership has grown significantly over the years, especially through my college experiences," she says. During her first year, classmates frequently encouraged her to take on leadership roles during team projects and collaborative assignments. Those experiences revealed both a talent and a passion for bringing people together. Over time, Aletta came to view leadership as a way to multiply impact. "As a leader, I am able to multiply my impact by bringing together a diverse group of individuals who can combine their unique skills to tackle challenges that would be impossible to solve alone."

For Aletta, leadership is also about culture. She believes that the environments in which people learn and work can significantly influence their willingness to take risks, contribute ideas, and grow. "By intentionally stepping into leadership roles, I am able to cultivate a safe, inclusive, and growth-based environment where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and learning." That philosophy has shaped her approach across organizations and projects. Whether coordinating activities for a student organization, mentoring younger teammates, or helping students understand challenging chemistry concepts, she seeks to create spaces where others can thrive.

Many of Aletta's extracurricular experiences have been carefully selected to develop skills she believes will be critical to her future. Through leadership roles in the Geological Society and NASA L'SPACE Mission Concept Academy, she has strengthened her abilities in project management, strategic planning, and team coordination. She also had the opportunity to complete an internship with Fluence Corporation, a global water company, where she was a sales engineering intern. She was able to bring together her technical skills in earth science while also learning about the sales process. Managing schedules, balancing resources, and guiding projects from concept to completion have provided firsthand experience with the complexities of leading scientific and technical initiatives. 

Just as importantly, these experiences have taught her the value of communication. Working across disciplines has shown Aletta that scientific expertise alone is not enough. "While understanding a concept is important, communicating it is just as vital," she says. Researchers must be able to explain complex ideas to collaborators, stakeholders, and broader audiences if they hope to create meaningful impact. Aletta's experiences in research, teaching, engineering projects, and leadership have helped her develop that skill.

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation's extensive network of scholars, astronauts, and industry leaders represents an exciting opportunity to continue that growth. "I look forward to engaging in cross-disciplinary conversations, breaking traditional academic boundaries, which mirrors the interdisciplinary focus of my own studies." For a student whose academic identity has been built around connecting fields, the opportunity to learn alongside exceptional scientists, engineers, and innovators from diverse disciplines is particularly meaningful.

Receiving the Astronaut Scholarship carries both practical and personal significance. The financial support will help ease the burden of pursuing advanced education, but Aletta sees the scholarship's greatest value in the relationships and opportunities it will create. She describes the award as validation of years of hard work and perseverance. "I have felt unsure several times about whether I was moving in the right direction with my studies, and receiving this recognition reassures me that I am on the right path and successfully contributing to my field." This makes the mentorship opportunities offered through the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation especially appealing. Access to accomplished professionals across academia, industry, and aerospace will provide insights that extend far beyond the classroom. For a student preparing to take the next step in her academic journey, those connections could prove invaluable.

Throughout her undergraduate experience, Aletta has discovered that the relationship between Earth science and chemistry extends far beyond traditional geochemistry. The same fundamental principles that explain how minerals form, how elements behave under changing conditions, and how materials evolve over geological time are the foundational principles of materials science and engineering. They are the basis for the development of advanced materials for aerospace, energy, and emerging technologies. Recognizing these connections has broadened her perspective on what an Earth science degree can lead to, reinforcing her belief that geoscience lays a powerful groundwork for careers far beyond conventional geology.

Building on her research experience at the intersection of geoscience and chemistry, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. She is currently spending this summer working at RTX Collins Aerospace, where she is a Failure Analysis Engineering Intern. This role is uniquely focused on materials science and engineering. She is learning new lab techniques, and conducting failure analyses and materials evaluations. This field offers an opportunity to apply her interdisciplinary training toward the development of next-generation materials that could enable future technological advances. Ultimately, she hopes to lead large-scale research initiatives in the aerospace and space sectors, combining project management with research and development.

For the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Chemistry, Aletta’s achievements offer a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when exceptional students are given the freedom, mentorship, and resources to pursue their passions. From a young rock collector returning home from the North Shore with a car full of geological treasures to a nationally recognized scholar studying the formation of distant planets, Aletta's journey reflects the transformative impact of scientific discovery, interdisciplinary education, and a community committed to helping students reach for the stars.