Students at Kingsbridge International High School participated in the latest NASA mission.

After a trip to the NYC Center for Aerospace and Applied Mathematics, Kingsbridge science teacher Alejandro Mundo and 25 of his students were invited to send their names to Mars for NASA's Perseverance mission.

Students like Cesar Ruperti wrote their names on a stencil and then NASA engineers used an electron beam to engrave their names onto the rover now exploring the red planet.

Mundo says these types of opportunities can introduce students of color to careers in STEM.

Ruperti is a first generation American from Ecuador and a recent graduate of the Kingsbridge school. He is currently studying mechanical engineering at City Tech College. He says the experience at the NYC Center for Aerospace and Applied Mathematics has inspired him to want to work for NASA.

A study from the Pew Research Center found that in the U.S., only 7% of people working in STEM are Latinx and only 9% are Black.