Karma Snyder, a project manager at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, was a senior design engineer on the RL10 liquid rocket engine that powered the Centaur, the upper stage of the rocket used in NASA's Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission in October 2009. Part of the LCROSS mission was to search for water on the moon by striking the lunar surface with a rocket stage, creating a plume of debris that could be analyzed for water ice and vapor. Snyder's work on the RL10 took place from 1995 to 2001 when she was a senior design engineer with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Years later, she sees the project as one of her biggest accomplishments in light of the LCROSS mission. 'It's wonderful to see it come into full service,' she said. 'As one of my co-workers said, the original dream was to get that engine to the moon, and we're finally realizing that dream.'

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Dan Andrews with the LCROSS team addresses the crowd on family night.

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Jennifer Heldmann of the LCROSS team address the crowd on family night.

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Jennifer Heldmann of the LCROSS team address the crowd on family night.

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Jennifer Heldmann of the LCROSS team address the crowd on family night.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with Mark Shirley, LCROSS Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA

LCROSS - calibration and camera check out with Kim Ennico placing cover over rear LCROSS

LCROSS Family night at Ames. LCROSS Program Executive, Victoria Friedensen address the crowd.

LCROSS Impact Night: Media interviews with Brian Day, Planners Collaborative, Inc. of the NASA Ames' LCROSS team.

LCROSS Impact Night From left to right: Khanh Trinh (Simulator Engineer), and Dan Andrews (LCROSS Project Manager) in background, John Bresina (Command Sequencing Engineer), and John Schreiner (Mission Operations Manager), shake hands after confirmation the LCROSS spacecraft successfully impacted its target crater on the moon.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with Mark Shirley, LCROSS Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA and Kim Ennico, NASA Ames P.I.

MoonFest: From Apollo to LCROSS and Beyond public event at NASA'S Ames Researc Center, Moffett Field, Calif. For the sing along 'Water on the Moon' lurics and music by John Mormiel, NASA LCROSS Deputy Project Manager.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with Mark Shirley, LCROSS Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA and Kim Ennico, NASA Ames P.I.

LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite) Near InfraRed Spectrometer shake test in Ames N-244 high bay EEL Lab - with Lynn Hofland, Ames EEL lab) and Kimberly Ennico, LCROSS payload scientist

LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite) Near InfraRed Spectrometer shake test in Ames N-244 high bay EEL Lab - with Lynn Hofland, Ames EEL lab) and Kimberly Ennico, LCROSS payload scientist

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I.'s and EEL personnel preforming various tests with Mark Shirley, LCROSS Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS Family night at Ames

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240

LCROSS team member Dan Andrews in his office

Dan Andrews, Project Manager LCROSS and Craig Tooley, Project Manager LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) in front of Spacecraft at the Astrotech facility titusville, FL during LRO/LCROSS media photo op event. The LCROSS mission's objective is to confirm the presence or absence of water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's South Pole. (Photo by Jonis Dino AMES PAO, premission for use granted by Dan Andrews, image owner)

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I.'s and EEL personnel preforming various tasks. Tony Colaprete LCROSS P. I. in foreground, Glen Sasaki and Jerry Wang Ames Electrical Evaluation Lab

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- packing into a special made crate for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (Tony Colaprete (r) LCROSS P.I.)

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and P.I. at NASA Ames Research Center - (l to r) Kim Ennico, Damon Flansburg and Gi Kojima check out the LCROSS Total Luminance Photometer lens and electronics attached to a metal plate in preparation for a vibe (vibration) test on the shake table in N-2444 EEL Laboratory

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- cleaning and wrapping for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Steve Ord, Project Management Division (l) and Tony Colaprete (r) LCROSS P.I.)

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- cleaning and wrapping for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Steve Ord, Project Management Division (l) and Tony Colaprete (r) LCROSS P.I.)

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240: Tony Colaprete NASA Ames P.I. explains the progress of the LCROSS project to Alan Stern, NASA Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) as he tours the Lab during his visit to Ames to meet with and talk to the Ames scientists and employees.

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and P.I. at NASA Ames Research Center - Total Luminance Photometer lens and electronics units on shake table in N-2444 EEL Laboratory with Lynn Hofland (techician/operator EEL) bolts two pieces of the LCROSS photometer to bigger shake table

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- securing special made crate for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Tony Colaprete (l) LCROSS P.I. Steve Ord, Project Management Division (c) ) and Unknown)

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- wrapping for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Steve Ord, Project Management Division (l) and Tony Colaprete (r), LCROSS P.I.)

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- cleaning and wrapping for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Steve Ord, Project Management Division (l) and Tony Colaprete (r) LCROSS P.I.)

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- cleaning and wrapping for transfer to Northrup Grumman Redondo Beach, CA where more calibration will be done before finally being sent for mating with the LRO spacecraft (with Steve Ord, Project Management Division (l) and Tony Colaprete (r) LCROSS P.I.)

LCROSS artwork. Credit Northrup Grumman Image converted using ifftoany

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - during calibration and camera checks

LCROSS impact artwork credit line required Northrup Grumman

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. (back view)

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240.

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware in Thermal Cycle configuration with _______

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I.'s and EEL personnel preforming various tests

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I.'s and EEL personnel preforming various tests

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Dr. David Morrison Interim Director of the Lunar Science Institute at Ames addresses the crown.

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Glen Sasaki securing all parts

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and P.I. at NASA Ames Research Center team in front of N-240A

LCROSS in Ames clean room of N-240 - Calibration and camera chec out with Kim Ennico

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I. Kim Ennico preforming various tasks

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification with Kim Ennico

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification with Kim Ennico

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and P.I. at NASA Ames Research Center

LCROSS flight hardware in clean room at Ames N-240. with P.I.'s (l - r) Tony Colaprete and Dana Lynch

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Jerry Wang (L) and Glen Sasaki securing all parts

LCROSS - Tony Colaprete does some adjustment during calibration and camera check out

LCROSS in Ames clean room of N-240 - Tony Colaprete does some adjustment during calibration and camera check out

Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and P.I. at NASA Ames Research Center

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Calibration and camera chec out with Tony Colaprete, P.I.

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Jerry Wang (L) and Glen Sasaki securing all parts

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Calibration and camera check out with Kim Ennico, P.I.

LCROSS in Ames clean room of N-240 - Calibration and camera check out with Tony Colaprete and Kim Ennico P.I.'s

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware in Thermal Cycle configuration with _______

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - Calibration and camera check out with Kim Ennico, P.I.

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240- cleaning for shipping to Northrup Grumman, Redondo Beach, CA

LCROSS Family night at Ames. Dr. David Morrison Interim Director of the Lunar Science Institute at Ames addresses the crown.

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - cleaning for shippment to Northrup Grumman, Redondo Beach, CA

LCROSS in Ames clean room N-240 - calibration and camera check out with Kim Ennico (Ed schilling is used as subject)

LCROSS in Ames clean room of N-240 - during calibration and camera check out Kim Ennico in background

LCROSS in Clean Room at Ames Research Centeer - flight hardware cable check and verification

LCROSS - Tony Colaprete does some adjustment during calibration and camera check out