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Gabe “Alex” Enghauser

@astro.rocketman83

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🪩♥️ @soap_is_good4u ♥️🪩
SPACEBOUND ASTRONAUT🚀🪐
Astronautical Engineer & Astrobotanist🚀🪴
🇵🇷@umichaero 30 💙💛
🚀SpaceCamp 3x Alumni
Ad astra per aspera🛰️

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

I FINALLY MADE IT-CLASS OF 2030!! @michiganengineering

After years of dreaming of this day, I’m finally advancing closer towards my career as an astronaut, pilot, astronomer, engineer, and medical researcher!! A day I’ve always yearned for, especially starting from my days in late-7th grade/early-8th grade, and continuing on to now, I can finally say that I am officially going to one of my #1 dream schools!! 🚀

I couldn’t have done this without any of my family, my teachers, or my friends, whether it be the amazing memories & most wonderful friends I made at SpaceCamp this past summer, as well as at SpaceCamp in 2024, or my parents, my brothers, my aunts, & everyone else who continued to foster my curiosity & motivate me to continue chasing my dreams, my identity as a future astronaut, & dare mighty things.

No matter how difficult any day got, I never gave up, & I can especially thank my parents for that, the sacrifices they made for me are countless (& the time they spent cleaning up after 3-year-old me whenever I’d decide to randomly cause chaos was even longer!!), I couldn’t do this without any of y’all, I am a mosaic of everyone I love, from my amazing family to my stellar, inspiring friends, thank you all for everything 🥹🫶

I cannot wait to pursue Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan, & cannot wait even more to pursue Space Medicine, Astrobotany, Space Kinesiology/Physiology & Psychology, or some other biomedical research with a focus on space applications!!

I’m filled with insurmountable joy knowing that I can carry on the memories & lessons that I’ve earned over the many years, whether it be from my abuela, my AP studies, staying late at robotics past 1am, founding & leading Rocketry, all the countless memories I made at SpaceCamp especially during the overnight Elite mission when I was covered in glitter & filled with caffeine (& even experienced a Microsoft/windows crash, just like Artemis 2 did!!), & all the times my parents had to wait in the parking lot of theatre rehearsal; all of it has truly been worth it!😁

The sky will never be the limit to me; here’s to infinity & beyond! I love y’all so much!!! 🥳🤙🧑‍🚀🚀🎉🎊🍾🕺🪩 by @astro.rocketman83

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6 months ago

Elite Advanced Space Academy — Expedition 44 — 27th of July to the 3rd of August 2025

TEAM DESCARTES FOR LIFE, WE THINK THEREFORE WE ARRRRRRRR 🚀🧑‍🚀🏴‍☠️☠️ OUR TEAM WON COMMANDERS CUP TOO🎉🎉 (because we’re the better Elite team of course 😎)

I was basically Mark Watney for a week except I didn’t get stranded on Mars (yet), and I was surrounded by the most amazing people ever!!! Love y’all so much 💛🤍

You guys are the bestest team ever, I don’t think any experience could ever top the ones I’ve had with all of you guys, I’m so lucky to have such amazing friends as y’all 😭🫶

(And yes I do have the best coquettish ingénue, it’s why I got the paper plate award for it of course 😎 I learned directly from studying Mark Watney himself) by @astro.rocketman83

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a year ago

Space Week 2026!!!🚀🛰️🪐✨

This week is monumental to the future of spaceflight and for inspiring everyone to continue funding and pursuing careers in space exploration!!!

Space Week 2026 (which ended on the best day ever, my birthday!!🥳🎉🚀) had the theme of “Rocket Revolution” this year, which being an aerospace engineer and a spacebound astronaut myself, it was so fascinating seeing all of the things throughout history that we’ve done to revolutionize the production, launch, and maintenance of rockets, ESPECIALLY reusable rockets, as well as how we’ve made rockets and other spacecraft safer and more cost-effective!!

Although this week is over, we should never forget just how important space exploration is!! Not only does it have an extremely high return-on-investment, space exploration also allows us to create more technologies for the betterment of humankind as well as all life on Earth (such as countless medical devices)!! Also, exploring the unknown is always an exciting and rewarding challenge!!

Happy Space Week 2026 y’all!!😎🚀🪐🥳

Ad astra per aspera🚀 by @astro.rocketman83

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9 days ago

Research Update!! 🎉

I am extremely proud to announce that I am now part of two research projects! 🥳

The first project is part of UROP, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, where I will be designing, developing, and testing rover wheel designs and optimizing them for Mars’ moon, Phobos. I certainly am very excited to get started with this one, especially as it’s right up my alley regarding space exploration technology!

As for the second project, it is one that I was offered to take the reins of, and am now officially the lead author and researcher of!!! With the support and help of those before me, which includes the doctor, professor, and PhD student who previously worked on it, I will be inventing, designing, and testing new, groundbreaking biomimetic technologies that will mimic the movement of aerial organisms and replicate their conservation of energy for flight! The applications are, of course, limitless, from aerospace to bioastronautics, as well as soft robotics!!

On top of everything else I do, from projects in MASA, MERO, and now these two research projects, I cannot wait to see what the future holds for me and what type of opportunities I will be offered as a result of all of my work!

And I definitely can’t wait for all of this to help me become an astronaut one day!!!😎🚀🪐🛰️

🚀 by @astro.rocketman83

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13 days ago

UMich Class of 2030 Welcome Week!!🥳🪩🚀

I’ve had so much fun starting the rest of my life here at Michigan, from going to record stores, seeing the Moon and stars at the Detroit Observatory, going thrifting with my fellow HSSP mentees, and so much more, it’s all been so amazing!!

Here’s to hoping the rest of the year is as awesome as this week’s been 🥹🤩 by @astro.rocketman83

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2 months ago

Day 1 & 2 of Robotics Camp 2026!!🔧⚙️

This is my fourth year helping teach and lead with this camp! As someone who found so much inspiration through STEM programs growing up (shout out to SpaceCamp and my Elite SpaceCamp group Descartes!!😎🫶🚀❤️🏴‍☠️), it’s always incredibly meaningful to help pass on that excitement to the next generation! Over the past two days of camp, we’ve explored robotics fundamentals, problem-solving (especially when a sensor or two doesn’t want to work 😭), teamwork, and plenty of hands-on learning as well!!

It’s experiences like these that remind me why I care so much about STEM education and outreach. Programs like these played a huge role in shaping who I am today, and I hope this week can inspire the same sense of curiosity and excitement in these students that so many mentors inspired in me. I’m definitely excited to see where this week takes them!! ⚙️🔧🪐🚀✨⭐️ by @astro.rocketman83

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4 months ago

Moon spotting - June 19 2026 🔭🌒✨

Finally got to use my Apertura AD8 Dobsonian telescope to snap some pics of the Moon!!🥳🎉

Most notably, I saw the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquilitatis), the Sea of Nectar (Mare Nectaris), AND the COOLEST of them all in my opinion, the edge of the Descartes Highlands (SHOUTOUT TO MY SPACECAMP ELITE GROUP DESCARTES❤️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ I LOVE Y’ALL SO MUCH 😋🫶✨🚀).

I hope to add some upgrades my Dobsonian soon, such as a motorized base and a camera module to take highly detailed (and more accurate/less shaky 🤣) photos!!🤞

And I also saw a few satellites zip across the sky while trying to line my telescope up with the Moon! Safe to say, it was definitely an amazing night!! 🔭🛰️✨ (only disappointment is that I didn’t get to see any Petrova Line, Rocky, or the Moon-based cousins of the Spiders from Mars 😔) by @astro.rocketman83

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4 months ago

A few years ago, conducting research felt like something that would take me until near the end of my college career to finally do.

Now, as an incoming Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Michigan, I’m incredibly excited to share that I’ve been accepted into the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Program!

Something I’ve longed to do for years is now finally here😁!! During the start of my Fall 2026 semester I’ll meet with advisors to choose my research, likely to be in the Engineering and/or Physical Sciences category.

Seeing the seeds of years of hard work finally come to fruition reminds me of one thing:

“REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE”

Not because of where I’ve arrived, but because I’ve refused to stop believing this was where I was meant to be.

Another step forward on my path toward becoming the astronaut I’ve always dreamed of.

🍾🚀🪩⭐️ by @astro.rocketman83

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4 months ago

4 years ended in just one day

I genuinely don’t even know if I’ve fully processed it yet, knowing that I’m closer to becoming an engineer, scientist, pilot, and astronaut. I’ve had so many sleepless nights, so many nights filled with studying only for it to go awry, and so many nights where I wasn’t sure if I would make it through high school, or even if I would make it to 18, as myself. Yet, despite the odds stacked against me, I persevered through anything and everything, and achieved every goal and more than I imagined. And I finally made it to the day I’ve been waiting for since before graduating 8th grade.

I couldn’t have done this without my family, friends, teachers, and mentors. Whether it be my friends lifting me up when I was down (sometimes with questionable methods), my mentors teaching me invaluable skills (thank you Ed!!), or my family always pushing me to try my best in my education and career, I wouldn’t be here without standing on the shoulders of giants and those before and alongside me.

4 years ago all I wanted was to make it to graduation so I could finally pursue my dreams and be myself. All I told myself, before high school even started, was to just make it to graduation. Well, now I’m finally here and I think every version of myself, from back then to now, couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve achieved, transformed into, and will continue to grow into. 🦋

If I could say anything to myself back then, I would tell myself to always keep my authenticity, that it all gets much better than I could have ever imagined, and to continue pushing on, regardless of what comes my way.

I’m finally here, beginning the rest of my life with an amazing family and wonderful friends alongside me. I love you all and can’t wait to share the rest of my journey!!!🥹🚀💛

A mi familia y amigos, los amo muchísimo, y gracias por todo, de verdad. Y especialmente a mi mamá, gracias por criarme para convertirme en la persona que siempre soñé ser. No puedo esperar para empezar esta nueva etapa en la universidad y seguir persiguiendo mis sueños, mi identidad, y todo lo que siempre he querido para mí. Sé que mi abuela estaría celebrando con nosotros ahora mismo ❤️ by @astro.rocketman83

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5 months ago

AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!!

Boat prom was such an amazing time, especially since it was with the one and only @lillian_heitchue 🫶, and we made our prom outfits space themed!!! We for sure had the best outfits there!!

We wore our SpaceCamp flight jackets (shoutout to our Elite SpaceCamp group Descartes🚀!!!) at the Michigan Science Center🪐, who let us use their planetarium for custom prom photos and videos, and we even got to pose in front of some our favorite nebulae and planets! @mi_sci

Everything was super fun, especially the views on the Detroit River and hanging out both on the yacht and afterwards! 🤩🪩🎉🚀

The whole day was genuinely one of my most favorite experiences ever, I’ll never ever forget it 🪐⭐️ by @astro.rocketman83

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5 months ago

Finally closing out 2025 (the best year so far 😎)

So long and thanks for all the fish 🪐

Love y’all 💛🦖🍭🪩 can’t wait for the thousands (maybe even millions?!) more 0.5’s I get from 2026 🥳 by @astro.rocketman83

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10 months ago

Can’t believe it’s already over, it was so fun and we met so many engineers & scientists (and NASA!!!!)😎🚀🚀

AGU25 in New Orleans, LA

#agu25 @americangeophysicalunion by @astro.rocketman83

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10 months ago