{"id":154826,"date":"2026-10-05T12:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T16:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=154826"},"modified":"2026-10-05T14:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T18:10:00","slug":"ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Grad, NASA Engineer Helps Build America\u2019s First Moon Base"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr>\n<p><em>Landing humans on the moon was just a dream when UCF was founded in 1963. But we dared to believe \u2014 developing the talent and inventing the technologies to make it reality. That same spirit still drives us today.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We are <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/space\/\"><em>America\u2019s Space University<\/em><\/a><em>. And we celebrate UCF Space Week to honor our origin as we dare to build what\u2019s next.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<section class=\"ucf-section ucf-section-space-week \" style>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"bg-inverse text-inverse\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row no-gutters\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"media-background-container h-100\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Image-810x400-1.jpg\" alt=\"UCF student adjusts equipment on a large telescope at night, surrounded by cables and machinery, with a starry sky in the background.\" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"UCF student adjusts equipment on a large telescope at night, surrounded by cables and machinery, with a starry sky in the background.\" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Image-810x400-1.jpg\"><br>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\" col-md-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"media-background-container h-100 d-flex flex-column align-items-center justify-content-center text-center\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-BG-800x400-1.jpg\" alt class=\" media-background object-fit-cover\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt class=\" media-background object-fit-cover lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-BG-800x400-1.jpg\">\n<div class=\"w-75 mx-auto pt-3\">\n<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Lockup.png\" alt=\"UCF Space Week Oct. 25-30, 2026\" class=\"w-100\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"UCF Space Week Oct. 25-30, 2026\" class=\"w-100 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/09\/2608-BNR-Today-Story-Promo-Space-Week-Lockup.png\">\n<p class=\"text-center pt-4 line-height-1 font-size-sm\">Where Global Leaders Unite to Forge the Future of Space<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n<hr>\n<p>On a clear night, <strong>Teresa Kinney \u201911MS<\/strong>&nbsp;can step into her backyard in Merritt Island, just a few miles from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and look toward the moon. Its illuminated gray and white surface is no longer just a distant destination \u2014 it represents the next chapter of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/space\/\">human space exploration<\/a>&nbsp;and her own&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/engineering\/\">engineering<\/a>&nbsp;career.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155782\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155782 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-300x200.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155782 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20300%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20300%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole.jpg 1200w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-lunar-south-pole-300x200.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">The harsh terrain of the lunar south pole is the staging ground for humanity&#8217;s next great leap. In this heavily shadowed region, peaks of eternal light catch rare glints of sunshine alongside craters of absolute darkness.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA&#8217;s Moon Base Program, the UCF alumna plays a critical role in the agency\u2019s phased effort to establish America\u2019s first permanent outpost near the moon\u2019s South Pole. Her&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;team oversees the surface transportation systems needed to deliver cargo,&nbsp;move equipment across the lunar surface, support deep-space and orbital missions and ensure every component works together as part of the larger lunar architecture.<\/p>\n<p>Kinney evaluates whether transportation concepts and designs are technically ready to advance and how they fit into NASA\u2019s long-term vision for building and sustaining a lunar base.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI make sure technically that the design is worthy of moving forward to the next phase, that we\u2019re looking at all the right thermal, dynamic and radiation environments and making sure the integration of hardware, including electronics and other parts, is coming together the proper way,\u201d Kinney says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155781\" style=\"max-width: 1200px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155781 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_.jpg\" alt data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-360x240.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155781 size-full lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt data-wp-editing=\"1\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201200%20800%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_-360x240.jpg 360w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artist-rendering-of-nasa-moon-base-operations_.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">An artist&#8217;s concept of a lunar base bustling with rovers, habitats, solar arrays and scientific equipment.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Engineering a Moon Base<\/h2>\n<p>NASA\u2019s Moon Base Program is designed to evolve from robotic and early uncrewed missions to semi-permanent infrastructure, early habitation and, eventually, a sustained human presence on the lunar surface. Every phase depends on reliable transportation systems capable of delivering the hardware and supplies needed to build, operate and maintain a base&nbsp;hundreds of thousands (238,855)&nbsp;of miles from Earth.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_155780\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\" class=\"figure float-left\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155780 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-300x200.jpg\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid w-100 wp-image-155780 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20300%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20300%20200%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-360x240.jpg 360w, https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations.jpg 1200w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/10\/artists-rendering-of-nasa-lunar-operations-300x200.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">An illustration of a sustained colony on the Moon highlights the massive infrastructure challenge facing UCF industrial engineering graduate Teresa Kinney \u201811MS.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Kinney, success depends on how every system works together. Landers must deliver the right payloads.&nbsp;Surface vehicles can transport equipment once it arrives. Orbital and deep-space transportation systems must support the broader mission. Each piece must perform safely on its own while also working within the overall architecture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was surprised by the logistical complexity of maintaining a permanent presence on the International Space Station,\u201d Kinney says. \u201cI guess I shouldn\u2019t have been \u2014 it\u2019s like going on a month\u2019s-long camping trip when you\u2019re used to camping for long weekends. You need a lot more for that longer duration because you can\u2019t just make do for an extended period. You think you\u2019re prepared, but then you realize there are things you didn\u2019t expect to need and things you wish you had with you. I think we\u2019ll learn those same kinds of lessons from Moon Base, and I\u2019m excited and ready to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kinney also serves as project chief engineer for the Liquid Oxygen-Methane Assessment, a joint initiative involving NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Space Force. As the project\u2019s final technical authority, she\u2019s helping quantify the explosive yield and risks associated with the large quantities of liquid oxygen and methane carried by next-generation rockets and spacecraft, including human landing systems, particularly during catastrophic failures or other anomalies. The data will help inform safety protocols for spacecraft, launch sites and surrounding communities.<\/p>\n<p>Whether she\u2019s assessing lunar transportation architecture or helping government agencies better understand the risks of cryogenic propellants, Kinney\u2019s work comes down to the same challenge: understanding how complex systems behave, where they can fail and how engineers can make them safer.<\/p>\n<h2>A Curiosity That Started Early<\/h2>\n<p>That instinct to understand how the pieces fit together began early.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8221; &#8230; my dad slid me up under the dashboard and started handing me parts. At some point I realized, \u2018I can do this.\u2019&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>At 8, Kinney started helping her father work on cars. By 12, she was small enough to slide under the dashboard of the family\u2019s Chevrolet station wagon and install its air-conditioning system before a summer trip to Florida.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were living in Alabama and were going to [Walt] Disney World [Resort] but couldn\u2019t make the drive to Florida without air conditioning,\u201d Kinney says. \u201cI was small enough that my dad slid me up under the dashboard and started handing me parts, asking me to connect things. At some point I realized, \u2018I can do this.\u2019 It was the first time I had ever completed a mechanical task entirely on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That experience sparked an interest in solving complex problems, shaping her career and allowing her to do what she enjoys most: putting things together.<\/p>\n<h2>Career Takes Off<\/h2>\n<p>Before becoming a NASA civil servant at Kennedy Space Center in 2005, Kinney earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and spent two decades supporting the space shuttle solid rocket booster, Spacelab and International Space Station programs as a contractor at Marshall Space Flight Center.<\/p>\n<p>As a structural dynamicist at NASA, she embraced the challenges of loads analysis and modal testing of large space structures while enjoying the freedom to explore new ideas and uncover innovative solutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never had any roadblocks in front of me,\u201d Kinney says. \u201cThey were like, \u2018Here\u2019s the work. Here\u2019s your part of it, Teresa. If you have problems, come and talk to us.\u2019 No one ever treated me in a way that wasn\u2019t wonderful and supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>UCF Landing<\/h2>\n<p>As her career evolved, Kinney realized technical expertise alone wasn\u2019t enough if she ever wanted to lead an interdisciplinary team. With UCF\u2019s longstanding presence at Kennedy Space Center, she knew where to turn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUCF has a great reputation and the proximity, but it took me years to say, \u2018OK, start doing a master\u2019s,\u2019\u201d Kinney says.<\/p>\n<p>While working full-time, she attended most classes at KSC through a special program, often balancing 60- to 70-hour workweeks as she earned her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/industrial-engineering-ms\/\">master\u2019s degree in industrial engineering<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;You never know what opportunities might be waiting in front of you.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Kinney applies that same dedication to everything she does, whether she\u2019s building bookcases with her husband \u2014 a retired NASA engineer she met while working at NASA (MSFC) \u2014 or encouraging young people to pursue careers in space exploration. She offers the same advice she gave her daughter, <strong>Julia Kinney \u201919<\/strong>, a UCF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/degree\/biomedical-sciences-bs\/\">biomedical sciences<\/a>&nbsp;graduate who works at a cancer center, and her son, Jackson, an aerospace engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t be intimidated,\u201d Kinney says. \u201cDon\u2019t see things as too hard \u2014 see them as challenges. You never know what opportunities might be waiting in front of you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA\u2019s Moon Base Program, <strong>Teresa Kinney \u201911MS<\/strong> is helping shape the systems that will move cargo and critical capabilities to and across the lunar surface.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":153422,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[15992,5],"tags":[973,11,2288,54398,4361,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-154826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-colleges","tag-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-graduate-studies","tag-industrial-engineering","tag-nasa","tag-space","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v28.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UCF Grad, NASA Engineer Helps Build America\u2019s First Moon Base | University of Central Florida News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA\u2019s Moon Base Program, Teresa Kinney \u201911MS is helping shape the systems that will move cargo and critical capabilities to and across the lunar surface.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UCF Grad, NASA Engineer Helps Build America\u2019s First Moon Base\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As transportation office program lead engineer in NASA\u2019s Moon Base Program, Teresa Kinney \u201911MS is helping shape the systems that will move cargo and critical capabilities to and across the lunar surface.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University of Central Florida News | UCF Today\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UCF\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-05T16:02:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-05T18:10:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/20\/files\/2026\/05\/Teresa-Kinney_NASA-ENGINEER-UCF-GRADUATE.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Juzanne Martin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UCF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Juzanne Martin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Juzanne Martin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/85cf3bab26b268af0b080375c968e4c7\"},\"headline\":\"UCF Grad, NASA Engineer Helps Build America\u2019s First Moon Base\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-05T16:02:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-05T18:10:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1242,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/news\\\/ucf-grad-nasa-engineer-helps-build-americas-first-moon-base\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ucf.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/blogs.dir\\\/20\\\/files\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Teresa-Kinney_NASA-ENGINEER-UCF-GRADUATE.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"College of Engineering and Computer Science\",\"College of Graduate Studies\",\"Industrial Engineering\",\"NASA\",\"space\",\"UCF Alumni\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Alumni\",\"Colleges &amp; 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