• As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions.
• Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority.

Undergraduate students of all majors at two- and four-year colleges and universities are invited to attend an in-person workshop in Boulder, Colorado. Attendees will get hands-on experience working with their very own LunaSat, a note-sized spacecraft with solar panels and science sensors. Guest speakers will also present about the Artemis mission and what it takes to get to the Moon. This event is free to all participants, excluding travel.

*Event Date(s): Oct. 21-24, 2021

Applications Open: Aug. 25, 2021

Applications Close: Sept. 13, 2021

Event Location: Boulder, Colorado

Eligibility:

• 18 years or older.
• Undergraduate students enrolled at a two- or four-year institutiond.
• Attendees are responsible for paying expenses for travel to and from Boulder, Colorado, and to the workshop from their hotel in Boulder.
• Teams no larger than three people.
• A mentor for the team from your institution (i.e., faculty, professor, etc.) must attend.

Get Started: https://www.glee2023.org/workshop-apply-now

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge features an engineering design challenge to engage students in the next phase of human space exploration. The annual event challenges students to create a human-powered vehicle designed to traverse the simulated surface of another world and complete mission tasks along the way. Student teams design, build and test technologies that enable rovers to perform in a variety of environments.

*Event Date(s): Apr. 28—30, 2022

Rules and requirements release: July 29

Registration for U.S. teams: Sept. 9 – Oct. 7

Proposal deadline for International teams: Sept. 9

*Subject to Change

Event Location: U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama

Eligibility:

• Open to high school and college students worldwide.
• Requires a mentor age 21 or older.

Visit the website or the frequently asked questions to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

NASA’s LUNABOTICS competition challenges university-level teams to use the NASA Systems Engineering Process to design, build, and operate a lunar robot. The teams will also perform public outreach, submit systems engineering papers and present and demonstrate their work to a NASA review panel.

*Event Date(s):

Registration opens: Sept. 8, 2021

Registration closes: Sept. 22, 2021

Phase I: Sept.—Nov. 2021

Phase II: Jan.—Apr. 2022

Phase III: May 2022

*Subject to Change

Event Location: NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Eligibility:

• The team will be compromised of enrolled full-time undergraduate or graduate students from an accredited post high school, vocational / technical school, college / university. These organizations shall be located in the United States, its Commonwealths, territories and/or possessions. The size of the team is at the discretion of the school. The team must include at least two undergraduate students and have its own working robot(s).

Visit the website to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

Micro-g Neutral Buoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT) challenges teams to design, build and test devices or tools that address a current, authentic space exploration challenge identified by NASA. The overall experience includes hands-on engineering design, test operations and public outreach. Test operations are conducted in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, a NASA training facility where astronauts train for spacewalks.

*Event Date(s): June 6-10, 2022

Request for Proposal released: Aug. 25

Proposal deadline: Oct. 28

Selections: Dec. 2021

Prototype Testing: May/June 2022

*Subject to Change

Event Location: NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas

Eligibility:

• Open to full-time undergraduate students (junior college, community college, college or university) at the time the proposal is submitted.
• Requires U.S. citizenship for team members.
• Requires a supervising faculty member.

Visit the website or the frequently asked questions to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

The Breakthrough, Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge provides undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to design, develop, and demonstrate robotic systems with alternative rover locomotion modalities for use in off-world extreme lunar terrain applications. This competition is intended to be an open innovation challenge with minimal constraints so that proposing teams can genuinely create and develop out-of-the-box solutions.

Teams of five to 25 students from Space Grant-affiliated colleges/universities are invited to submit proposals for a variety of alternative rover locomotion modalities to either enhance or replace traditional wheeled mobility systems that expand access to extreme terrain on the Moon. Selected teams will receive awards up to $180K to bring their ideas to life.

*Event Date(s): Mid-Nov., 2022 (BIG Idea Extreme Terrain Mobility Challenge Forum)

Information released: Aug. 3

Notice of Intent deadline: Sept. 24

Proposal deadline: Jan. 18, 2022

*Subject to Change

Event Location: TBD

Eligibility:

• Open to undergraduate and graduate students at accredited U.S.-based colleges and universities officially affiliated with their state’s Space Grant Consortium. Non-Space Grant affiliated colleges/universities may partner with a Space Grant affiliated academic institution who takes a primary role on the project (i.e., the Space-Grant affiliated university must submit the proposal on behalf of the joint team). Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply.
• Open to U.S. citizens attending U.S.-based universities. *Teams can include up to five foreign students provided they are attending a U.S.-based university.
• Requires a primary advisor from a space grant affiliated school (the lead institution). *Any additional advisors can be from academia or industry.

Visit the website or the frequently asked questions to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

First Nations Launch (FNL) is an annual competition offering Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) collegiate chapters the opportunity to demonstrate engineering and design skills through direct application in high-power rocketry. An experience unique to Native American communities, FNL allows teams to conceive, design, fabricate and launch high-power rockets as part of this competitive challenge.

*Event Date: Apr. 22-24, 2022

Announcement of opportunity: Sept. 1

Non-binding Notice of Intent deadline: Oct. 22

*Subject to Change

Event Location: Richard Bong State Recreational Area, Kansasville, Wisconsin, and Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin

Eligibility:

• Undergraduate students from TCUs and AISES collegiate chapters.
• Teams must have a faculty advisor and team mentor.

Visit the website to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS) challenges students to design and create spacesuit information displays within augmented reality (AR) environments. As part of the application process, teams must submit a letter of intent and a proposal complete with technical, outreach and administrative sections.

*Event Date(s):

Announcement of Opportunity and Request for Proposal: Aug. 30

Notice of Intent deadline: Sept. 30

Proposal deadline: Oct. 28

Software Readiness Review: Mar. 2022

Test Week: May 19-24, 2022

*Subject to Change

Event Location: Student participation is virtual and onsite this year. Five students and one faculty advisor from each selected team will be invited to the test week in Houston, Texas. Exact testing location will be provided.

Eligibility:

• Full-time undergraduate or graduate students enrolled at U.S. institutions of higher learning.
• Team members must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to attend on-site testing activities.
• Support team members may be university students of any level, faculty members, professional consultants, etc.

Visit the website or the frequently asked questions to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.

Student Launch challenges student teams to design, build and fly a high-powered rocket containing a science or engineering payload. Teams complete a series of design reviews that mirror the NASA engineering design life cycle. Teams must successfully complete a Preliminary Design Review, Critical Design Review, Flight Readiness Review and Launch Readiness Review, which include safety briefings, analyses of vehicle and payload systems and flight test data.

*Event Date(s):

Request for Proposal released: Aug. 18

Proposal deadline: Sept. 20

Selections Announced: Oct. 5

Preliminary Design Reviews: Nov. 2021

Critical Design Reviews: Jan. 2022

Flight Readiness Reviews: Mar. 2022

Event Week: Apr. 20-24, 2022

Winners Announced: May/June 2022

*Subject to Change

Event Location: Two options in 2021-2022 — NASA Launch Complex (with NASA in Huntsville, Alabama) or a commercial spaceport launch site (i.e. a local launch field).

Eligibility:

• Open to teams from U.S. colleges and universities, high schools and middle schools. Note: High school and middle school teams must first qualify by placing in the top 25 of The American Rocketry Challenge or the top 3 of the Rockets For Schools Class II competition. A high school and middle school educator or mentor from each qualified team must participate in the summer Advanced Rocketry Workshop.
• Open to U.S. citizens and international students. *Any foreign national team members must be identified by the PDR and may or may not have access to certain activities during launch week due to security restrictions.
• Requires an adult mentor as a team member throughout the project.

Visit the website to learn more about the challenge.

Get Started!

Note: As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to evolve, NASA will closely monitor and follow guidelines from federal, state and community officials regarding on-site competitions. Protecting the health and safety of team members, staff and judges is our primary priority. Challenge managers will be in contact with participants on specifics and changes to the challenges, if any.