Paula do Vale Pereira is a Ph.D. student in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In her Ph.D. program, Paula is working to develop new capabilities for exploring space. Her Ph.D. thesis focuses on the thermomechanical design, testing, and prototyping of two exploratory payloads: DeMi (Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission) and Prometheus (nuclear-Powered RObotic MEchanism Technology for Hot-water Exploration of Under-ice Space). Paula has an M.Sc. in Space Systems from MIT, an M.Sc. and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, and a B.A. in Management from the State University of Santa Catarina.