Pella High School student Chetan Vanam was among more than 250 competitors from across the globe to participate in the 2025 International Space Settlement Design Competition, held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The competition is a high-intensity industry-simulation event where students take on professional aerospace engineering roles, tackle industry-specific challenges, and develop real-world solutions.

Working under intense time constraints, Vanam and his team had just 48 hours to design a futuristic, fully functional space settlement capable of sustaining human life in orbit around Venus. Their work concluded with a formal presentation of their design to a panel of aerospace industry experts.

Vanam, who also serves as a Design Engineer and Computer Programmer for the Pella High School Robotics Team, earned this opportunity by excelling at the 2025 South Dakota Space Design Competition earlier this year.