Camille Arnn

Come in, Houston

Camille has experienced space from a range and perspective many never will. She’s conversed with astronauts in orbit. She’s operated the electrical power and thermal systems on the International Space Station. She’s worked in NASA’s infamous mission control. And now, she’s leading the race to get hardware back on the moon.

So, how did Camille get to where she is today? A passion for robotics led her to receiving a scholarship through the Colorado Space Grant, an opportunity that allowed her to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at CMU. During her time at CMU, Camille participated in the Colorado Mesa University/University of Colorado Boulder Engineering Partnership Program. A non-traditional experience, the partnership program paved the way for Camille to gain a world-class education in an intimate, hands-on atmosphere. Looking back, she attributes her ability to land her first job out of college at NASA to the high standard for hard work that CMU’s challenging yet encouraging environment held her to.

One giant leap

When we spoke with Camille, she was in Pittsburg, PA, where she relocated when she transitioned from her job at NASA to her current position at Astrobotic. The impetus for her move? Camille laughed that she had become so accustomed to the adventurous, outdoor lifestyle at CMU that Houston just couldn’t match — she missed the mountains, the fresh air and the outdoor adventures.

Her other driving force was the ability to transition from the government-funded realm to commercial, with the opportunity to tackle new challenges and work on projects unprecedented in the industry — like getting to the moon faster, cheaper and better than ever before. As the program office manager at Astrobotic, Camille is involved in overseeing all of the department’s projects, from getting spacecraft to land to developing products that enable survival on the moon.

Even though where she is now feels like lightyears from where she started, Camille often reflects on how grateful she is for the personalized, experiential education she received from Colorado Mesa University. A strong admirer of the grandeur of Grand Junction and an advocate for the intimacy of the CMU experience, Camille greatly appreciates that she got to be one of twenty in a lab rather than one of two hundred in a lecture hall.

Article published January 2023