so_I_says_to_mabel

Completely missing the point.

An articulate response to a complex situation!

No, not even close. Don't buy the way the OP sold what he did. He basically worked on a glorified worksheet prepared by a NASA scientist. No one at NASA is entrusting a High School student with ANYTHING of relevance. You just need to work hard and actually pursue every opportunity at your dream, get into a relevant college program, look for graduate advisers that already have a relationship with NASA.

No, just aware of how science works and unhappy with how many lower level scientists tend to portray themselves. None of them are actually geniuses, they just work hard and pursued interesting opportunities.

I (and other scientists) worry it keeps people intimidated by science.

And yet, here we have a young person, very interested in science, and you're making him feel pretty terrible about it.

All of my interactions with the OP have shown me that he is perfectly capable of handling the rather low intensity criticism I sent his way. Guess what, if you want to be a scientist you need to be able to handle criticism.

Stop being a jerk and let him be happy that he works for NASA, for Christ's sake.

Ok, I'll never question a statement again if it makes a person happy. Merry Christmas