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    • Competitions & Challenges

    Competitions and Challenges for Students

    Don’t miss out on student competition opportunities available from NASA.  Check this page often for new additions.

    SPECIAL STATEMENT:

    NASA has been closely monitoring developments of the COVID-19 outbreak. We are aware that many of the student teams participating in the Artemis Student Challenges must cope with limited or suspended physical access to campuses, travel restrictions or other impediments that may affect their ability to participate in the challenges as proposed.

    Due to these hurdles we continue to face, and out of an abundance of caution for the teams and our workforce, activities for each of these events may look different than originally planned. It should be noted that the technical work completed by each team will not go unnoticed. Challenge managers for each activity will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any. We will continue to monitor the situation, and remain flexible and adapt as it evolves. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

    NASA 2021 BIG Idea Challenge: Call for Proposals

    NASA is seeking robust proposals from universities affiliated with their state’s Space Grant Consortium (or partnered with an affiliated school) to design, build, and test novel dust mitigation (or dust tolerant) technologies for lunar applications. This is an open innovation challenge with minimal constraints so that proposing teams can genuinely create and develop out-of-the-box solutions.

    For the 2021 BIG Idea Challenge, NASA solicits team proposals from Space Grant affiliated universities and colleges for a wide range of unique lunar dust mitigation (or dust tolerant) solutions supported by solid engineering rigor in response to one of the following categories:

    • Landing Dust Prevention and Mitigation
    • Spacesuit Dust Tolerance and Mitigation
    • Exterior Dust Prevention, Tolerance, and Mitigation
    • Cabin Dust Tolerance and Mitigation

    Up to 10 teams will be selected to build their proposed technology for dust mitigation, and will be responsible for setting up and executing their own high-fidelity verification testing, based on what was described in the proposal. Teams are encouraged to be creative and design their own accurate and realistically simulated testing scenarios.

    A wide range of award sizes is expected (in the range of $50,000 – $180,000), depending on the scope of the work proposed. It is anticipated that several larger-scope awards (typically $125,000 – $180,000) and several smaller-scope awards (typically $50,000 – $124,000) will receive funding. Proposers are encouraged to request what is actually needed to conduct the proposed work.

    Interested and eligible teams of students and their faculty advisors should submit an online Notice of Intent by September 25, 2020. Written and video proposals are due on December 13, 2020. Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply.

    For full competition details, including eligibility requirements, design constraints, and submission guidelines, please visit the BIG Idea Website

    If you have any questions, please contact the BIG Idea team: BigIdea@nianet.org 

    2021 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition – Call for Proposals

    The 2021 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition is seeking proposals for new concepts that leverage innovation to improve our ability to operate in space and on distant bodies as we extend humanity’s presence further into the solar system.

    Open to both undergraduate and graduate students studying fields with applications to human space exploration, NASA’s RASC-AL Competition is an engineering design challenge that allows students to incorporate their coursework into real aerospace design concepts and work together in a team environment.

    Interested student teams and their faculty advisors are invited to submit an online Notice of Intent (NOI) by October 15, 2020 and their Proposal Submission by March 4, 2021.

    For full competition details, including complete theme and submission guidelines, please visit the RASC-AL Website: http://rascal.nianet.org

    2021 RASC-AL Special Edition: Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge

    The 2021 RASC-AL Special Edition: Moon to Mars Ice & Prospecting Challenge seeks proposals from eligible teams of undergraduate and graduate students in the U.S. to design and build prototype hardware that can extract water and assess subsurface density profiles from a simulated off-world test bed to advance critical technologies needed on the surface of the Moon and Mars.

    Up to 10 teams will be selected to receive $10,000 to build their proposed concept. Finalist teams will travel to NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Hampton, VA* during the summer of 2021 to participate in a multi-day competition where the universities’ prototypes will compete to extract the most water from an analog environment simulating lunar and Martian surfaces, while using system telemetry to distinguish between overburden layers (i.e., prospecting) and create a digital core of the various layers.

    For full competition details, including design parameters, testing environment, and submission guidelines, please visit the RASC-AL Special Edition Website: http://specialedition.rascal.nianet.org/

    Interested student teams and their faculty advisors should submit an online Notice of Intent by October 1, 2020 and a detailed project plan proposal by November 24, 2020.

    If you have any questions, please contact the RASC-AL Program Team: rascal@nianet.org

    *As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA and NIA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state, and community officials regarding the onsite competition at NASA LaRC next summer. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff, and judges is our primary priority.

    Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC)

    Are you interested in learning more about NASA’s Technology Transfer program? Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset? Visit our website to see how you could qualify to apply for the Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovation and Tech Transfer Idea Competition (MITTIC). Through collaboration with NASA L’SPACE Academy, MITTIC is offering a “concept to commercialization” training opportunity. Learn to effectively write a concept paper that turns innovative ideas into reality!

    Don’t miss this chance, come up with an idea to spinoff NASA Intellectual Property (IP) and work with a NASA researcher. During MITTIC you will:

    1. Upon completion of the L’SPACE Academy, teams composed of four (4) to five (5) students must choose one NASA Intellectual Property (IP) from the provided list, and submit a concept paper explaining the commercial viability of the proposed concept using MITTIC challenge guidelines .*Priority is given to teams partnering with a NASA Small Business Company (SBC).
    2. Up to eight (8) qualifying teams are selected to participate in an online collaboration tool and funded to travel to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The onsite immersion experience will occur in April 2021. Each team is REQUIRED to submit:
    • Certificate of completion from a least one team member who completed one of the L’SPACE academies
    • Concept paper/business plan
    • Explanation of team’s concept and business plan during a poster session
    • An oral “lightning pitch” presentation, during Space Tank competition

    The concept paper, poster session and oral presentation will be reviewed and evaluated by a committee using the criteria listed within this document.

    The winning team of the Space Tank competition will receive travel funding for up to five (5) team members and one (1) principal investigator (PI) to visit, tour and present at NASA’s Ames Research Center and various tech companies in Silicon Valley, California. This experience provides the team with an exclusive look at facilities, laboratories, start-up companies and the opportunity to discuss further concept development.

    Each qualifying team could receive incentives of up to $5,000, while the winning team is eligible to receive up to an additional $10,000. Internship opportunities are also available for qualified MITTIC participants.

    The timeline to apply for MITTIC is January 4- February 16, 2020 at midnight CT.

    Learn more at go.nasa.gov/nasamittic or email questions to HQ-MITTIC@mail.nasa.gov

    Student Payload Opportunity With Citizen Science

    Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science (SPOCS) is an opportunity for a team of Artemis Generation students enrolled in institutions of higher learning to design and build an experiment to fly to and return from the International Space Station. Participating students may be citizens of any country, however, only U.S. citizens will be allowed to attend the launch and all teams must have a faculty advisor who is a U.S. citizen.

    NASA STEM on Station will fund five payloads focused on bacteria resistance or sustainability research. Payloads will remain on the space station for approximately 30 days without any interaction or observation from the station crew. In addition to funding flight and return of the payload, STEM on Station will also provide up to $20,000 awarded as a subcontract which is used toward equipment or supplies to build the experiment and perform outreach.

    Selected teams are expected to involve K-12 students (or a subset) as citizen scientists as part of their experiment. Citizen science allows students to meaningfully contribute to real-world research. Examples include providing baseline data, sorting data or comparing ground data to experimental data from the space station. Teams are also expected to conduct educational outreach to engage communities in their work.

    Proposals are due Oct. 20 at 5 p.m. ET.

    Submit your proposal

    Proposal Form Template

    Proposal Guidelines

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Email for questions JSC-STEMonStation@mail.nasa.gov

    More info at https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem_on_station/spocs.html

    NASA Robotic Mining Competition (RMC) Lunabotics 2021

    Registration is now open for teams of undergraduate and graduate students from throughout the nation to participate in NASA’s Robotic Mining Competition: Lunabotics 2021.

    The competition is a part of the Artemis Student Challenges, designed to engage and retain students in STEM fields by expanding opportunities for student research and design in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that potentially could be used on future NASA missions to the Moon or even Mars.

    RMC: Lunabotics 2021 aims to train university students in the methods of NASA systems engineering, while designing, building, and operating lunar excavator prototypes. In order to have a sustainable presence on the Moon, it will be necessary to excavate lunar soil, known as regolith, to extract local resources to use as building materials, water, or even rocket fuel.

    Registration will close Wednesday, Sept. 16, at noon EDT.

    For more competition information, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/centers/kennedy/technology/nasarmc.html