Students across the nation will have the opportunity to create innovations in space travel through a new NASA contest.
NASA is running a program allowing American students to submit ideas for either a rocket-powered lander or a high-altitude balloon. Winning teams will get to see their experiments funded and put through practical testing.
The competition is part of NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge. NASA announced that the contest — the third such challenge the agency has run — will accept entries until October 20.
Students may choose to have their experiments geared for either a high-altitude balloon operated by World View of Tucson, Arizona, or the Astrobotic of Pittsburgh’s Xodiac suborbital rocket-powered lander. The balloon will be used for the study of Earth’s upper atmosphere, while the lander will be used to simulate landing on the lunar surface, according to NASA.
Participating students from 6th to 12th grade will gather in teams of at least four and design an experiment for either the lander or the balloon with respect to preset guidelines. Teachers or school employees can submit the ideas to NASA for consideration.
There is no limit on how many teams can be formed or how many proposals can be submitted; however, each entry must be unique.
“NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge is one of the many exciting ways we’re engaging with the Artemis Generation,” said Bill Nelson, NASA administrator, in a press release. “The process of designing flight experiment proposals encourages students to think big and realize that their talents and creativity will be key in the future of humanity’s exploration.”
NASA will select 60 teams in total, half for the ballon and half for the lander, to be part of the challenge. Winning teams will then be provided with “$1,500 to build their experiment, a flight box in which to build their experiment, and an assigned spot for the winning experiment on a NASA-sponsored flight.”
Winning teams will be announced on January 16, 2024. The teams will then begin constructing their experiments with the provided materials for an eventual launch in the summer of 2024. A TechRise advisory team will assist the students throughout the process.
Gregory Tucker, educator lead for the Nesbitt Discovery Academy team in Asheville, North Carolina, and a winner of the previous competition, said that the experience was “amazing” for his students.
“It was wonderful to see the excitement in the group when the final test was complete, all sensors and data collection were working correctly, and our experiment was ready for launch,” said Tucker, per the press release. “The confidence and pride that these students gained over the months working on this project was immeasurable.”
