Madison “Maddie” Heldman graduated from Arizona State University (ASU) in the Spring of 2025 with a degree in Earth and Space Exploration, concentrating in Astrophysics, and a certificate in Planetary Science. As an ASU Barrett, the Honors College graduate, she wrote and defended her thesis on the misconceptions of AI usage within the space industry, and how these misconceptions may be harmful if left unaddressed. She also worked with the NASA Psyche mission as the Project Manager of her senior capstone project, which tested instrumentation that could be used on surface missions to metallic bodies in order to help determine whether these bodies are failed planetesimal cores.

Her L’SPACE journey began in the Summer of 2024 as the Deputy Project Manager of Resources for her team in the Mission Concept Academy (MCA). Maddie then started as a Program Analyst Mentor for the MCA in the Summer of 2025, and is now beginning her third semester as a LEAP Intern — this time as the Programmatics Advisor. 

Maddie recently joined Duckweed Labs, a former NPWEE winning proposal, where she doubles as a Program Analyst and Data Analytics Specialist. Duckweed Labs aims to successfully build an autonomous growth chamber for duckweed in microgravity and planetary environments to help provide future manned missions with a reliable supply of nutrients. As she enters the workforce, she hopes to apply her program analysis, risk management, and leadership skills to the space industry, supporting its innovative and scientific endeavors with her interdisciplinary skillset.