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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 Minority University Research & Education Project (MUREP) Innovation Tech Transfer Idea Competition (NASA MITTIC) 2022

    The submission window for concept papers for the NASA Minority University Research & Education Project (MUREP) Innovation Tech Transfer Idea Competition (NASA MITTIC) 2022 is now open! Concept papers are accepted now through February 7, 2022 at 5 p.m. CST.

    Check out eligibility requirements on their website. Once there, you will use the Apply Now button to submit your application and concept paper.

    All applications require you to create an account. Once you create an account, your information is saved for future application submissions. If you have not created an account in the NASA STEM Gateway for any previous activity, please sign up.

    If you encounter any errors or issues with creating your account or submitting your team’s concept paper, please contact us at HQ-MITTIC@mail.nasa.gov for assistance.

    NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS)

    NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) builds a diverse future STEM workforce by engaging two-year degree seeking students in authentic learning experiences. It opens doors for 2-year community college students seeking a STEM degree by offering three unique experiences. Scholars get a closer look at NASA’s unique missions and research and learn how to develop their talents, interests, and passion to become future STEM professionals by participating in one of three missions: discover, engage, and explor.

    Eligibility

    • U.S. Citizenship
    • High school graduate or equivalent.
    • At least 18 years of age.
    • Currently attend a U.S. community college.
    • Concurrent enrollment or completion of 9+ hours of STEM coursework.
    • Able to commit to a 5-week online session.
    • Internet access.
    • Have not previously participated in NCAS.

    How to Apply

    To complete the application, visit the NASA STEM Gateway.

    You will need to provide:

    Community college transcripts (official or unofficial) or screenshots including:

    Your name.
    Your school’s name.
    9 hours of STEM courses, either completed or in progress.
    Proof of current enrollment.
    Contact information.

    College Professor Recommendation.

    300 word explanation of why you want to participate in NCAS.

    If you experience any technical difficulties with the application, please send an email to hq-nasa-stem-gateway@mail.nasa.gov

    More info at: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/murep/projects/ncas.html

    Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone (GLEE) Student Opportunity

    The Great Lunar Expedition for Everyone (GLEE) is a mission to land 500 LunaSats on the Moon in 2023 by student teams from all over the world. GLEE is led by Colorado Space Grant Consortium at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and funded by both NASA’s Artemis Student Challenges and NASA’s National Space Grant and Fellowship Project. GLEE is hosting a self-guided or asynchronous remote workshop for student teams to work hands-on with their very own LunaSat through 10 interactive modules. To learn more about the GLEE program please visit glee2023.org.

    The GLEE program is open to college and high school students (ages 14 to 30) and is free to participate however we only have enough kits for 350 teams. Therefore this two-step application (Part 1 and Part 2) process is competitive as not all teams will be selected. Teams will be selected based on how well they complete both parts of the application. As long as both application parts are submitted prior to the deadline, all applications will be considered. The level of technical experience and competency are not criteria for selection in the GLEE program.

    Part 1 of the application will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Upon completion of Part 1, teams will receive details on how to submit Part 2, which will take ~20 minutes to complete.

    Part 1 collects basic information from teams that wish to be a part of the GLEE project. Part 2 collects more detailed information about the team and its plans for participation with GLEE. In order to be considered for GLEE, teams shall complete both Part 1 and Part 2 of the application. Part 1 AND Part 2 of the application shall be completed by April 4, 2022, at 12 PM MDT.

    More info at: https://www.glee2023.org/

    Apply here

    Fly your experiments on the International Space Station

    “Leveraging the ISS National Lab to Enable Digital Engagement in K-12 and Higher Education” is open to U.S.-based entities seeking to establish or expand programs and products for students of all ages, particularly those from underserved communities. This research announcement will include up to $400,000 in total funding for multiple selected projects.

    Concepts submitted in response to this announcement must specifically state how proposed initiatives will target and reach underrepresented demographics and must also address at least one of the following goals:

    • Expand the content and impact of Space Station Explorers by developing digital engagement platforms to increase student and educator participation in existing or new partner programs, including online education products.
    • Create higher education initiatives that deliver opportunities for students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities to increase diversity, equality, and inclusion in space-based research, technology development, and the commercialization of LEO.
    • Digitize space-based K-12 or higher education programming.

    This research announcement will follow a two-step proposal submission process. Before being invited to submit a full proposal, all interested investigators must submit a Step 1: Concept Summary for review. Step 1: Concept Summaries must be submitted by end of day on May 9, 2022. Step 2: Full Proposals (from those invited to submit) will be due by end of day July 19, 2022.

    To learn more about this opportunity, including how to submit a Step 1: Concept Summary, please visit the research announcement webpage. To learn more about the ISS National Lab and the science that it sponsors, please visit www.ISSNationalLab.org.

    Trash-to Gas Ash Management Challenge

    One of the challenges of long duration space exploration is waste management.   As waste streams are generated, unwanted trash items begin to accumulate in the cabin. During long duration missions, this aggregates into several tons of trash being stored inside the habitat, which makes orbital maneuvers more expensive and reduces the amount of habitable volume for the crew.  NASA is taking a multi-pronged approach to waste management on long-duration spacecraft (see Waste to Base Materials Challenge: Sustainable Reprocessing Space and NASA Waste Jettison Mechanism Challenge). Three primary approaches are currently being investigated to help solve the problem with space trash: 

    1. Thermally degrade the waste via a process called Trash-to-Gas. This approach gasifies the waste items, producing water and syngas which can be reutilized onboard or vented overboard for mass and volume reduction.
    2. Dry, stabilize, and compact the trash items. This approach removes the water from the trash, reduces trash volume, and produces trash tiles that may be effective for radiation protection. However, another method of removing the trash mass from the spacecraft is still required in conjunction with this approach.
    3. Jettison the trash via an airlock. This approach removes all of the trash mass and volume from the habitat but may not recover any of the resources within the discarded trash items.

    This challenge will help support the development of the first approach, Trash-to-Gas. Trash-to-gas reactors are considered a sustainable approach to both near- and long-term waste management during long-duration space missions.  The primary goal of this challenge is to create actionable design concepts for ash removal from a trash-to-gas reactor in microgravity.

    This challenge has a total prize purse of $30,000 and will recognize the top three design concepts with first, second, and third prizes of $15,000, $10,000, and $5000 respectively.  

    Deadline: May 12, 2022

    More info at: https://www.herox.com/trashtogas

    CineSpace Short Film Competition

    NASA and the Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS) opened submissions for the 2022 CineSpace International Short Film Competition on March 1, kicking off the eighth year of the film competition. The deadline for submissions closes July 15th, 2022 at noon PST.

    Filmmakers around the world have the grand opportunity to submit their work to the content creation platform Tongal.  Films can be of any genre and on any topic.  Film entries must be no more than 10 minutes and at least 10% of the film must use NASA archival footage to create unique NASA-inspired film masterpieces!

    Finalists will be announced alongside the lineup of the 2022 Houston Cinema Arts Festival on October 2022. Winners of this year’s competition will be announced and awarded their prizes at the 14th Annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival taking place November 2022. Finalists and winners may be screened at other film festivals across the country, in schools, libraries, museums, on NASA TV and even onboard the International Space Station.

    Deadline: July 15, 2022

    More info at: https://www.cinespace.org/