,
18
February
2020
|
11:39 AM
America/Chicago

Calif. Member Named NASA 'Solar System Ambassador'

Capt. Joseph Spears
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Tri-Valley Composite Squadron 156
California Wing

Second Lt. Kailash Kalidoss, assistant aerospace education officer for the California Wing’s San Jose Senior Squadron 80, is NASA’s newest solar system ambassador.

Kalidoss is the second member of the squadron to receive the honor since 2017, joining 1st Lt. Tara Samuels, a fellow assistant aerospace education officer as well as the unit's activities officer, was named to the role.

Kalidoss is also an assistant safety officer for the San Jose squadron. He holds a Mission Scanner rating and is training for the Mission Observer rating.

“I’m tremendously honored to represent both Civil Air Patrol and NASA, who fuel my passion for learning and sharing aerospace knowledge to the community,” he said. “My father’s long work experience in the aviation industry truly inspired me. I have been lucky and grateful to be surrounded by friendly and knowledgeable colleagues who help me keep motivated.”

Kalidoss' profile page on the Solar System Ambassadors Program website cites his "handling complex projects involving,quality assurance and design control of embedded medical devices, starting from business requirements to product release."

The Solar System Ambassadors program works with motivated volunteers across the nation to share NASA science and mission discoveries through a variety of events that inspire their communities.

Since the program was reorganized in 2000, volunteers like Kalidoss have conducted over 40,000 events that reached more than 9 million people directly through in-person events.

There are now more than 900 volunteers who bring the excitement of NASA missions to their local communities through the program.