STEM programs face uncertain future amid potential NASA budget cuts

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) -- "Titania. Explore future of life on Titan. I want to explore Saturn's largest moon, Titan, in case a huge comet could crash into Earth," read Anika Lal, a third-grader at BASIS Pflugerville, from her recent essay.Anika Lal wants to work for NASA and be an astronaut when she grows up. (Todd Bailey/KXAN)
Lal is one of two semifinalists from the region in the Future Engineers' fourth annual Power to Explore Challenge. Her essay explores a proposed trip to Saturn's moon