NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) – Mission 1: Discover
Audience: Community college students who are U.S. citizens
Next Information Session: Thursday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. EST
Office Hours: Wednesdays at 5 p.m. EST
Application Deadline: Monday, Nov. 25
Contact: JSC-NCAS@mail.nasa.gov
NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) supports community college students seeking to transfer to a four-year institution or go directly to the labor force by engaging them in authentic learning experiences. Applications for Mission 1: Discover are open now. Students will take part in a five-week, self-paced online course introducing them to NASA missions and research surrounding space exploration, technology, and aeronautics research.
Mission 1: Discover is the first of three missions designed to challenge and build student knowledge and skills by focusing on NASA’s mission goals, team collaboration, and career pathways.
Summer Institute – LiftOff 2025: Flight Paths Toward Innovation - Application Deadline December 20, 2024
Audience: Teachers of grades 5-12
Application Deadline: Dec. 20
Institute Dates: June 22-27, 2025
Contact: cmiller@csr.utexas.edu
The 2025 LiftOff Summer Institute is a weeklong training event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston sponsored by the University of Texas Center for Space Research. This year’s theme is "Flight Paths to Innovation." Attendees will explore NASA’s supersonic X-59 aircraft, advancements in satellite technology, and the Artemis program, NASA’s initiative to return humans to the Moon. Participants will attend presentations by NASA scientists and engineers, tour NASA facilities, and receive hands-on, inquiry-based classroom activities aligned to education standards. Applicants must be U.S. citizens currently employed as classroom teachers of grades 5-12 with at least one year of teaching experience prior to the event. Click here to apply.
NASA Innovation Corps Pilot - Proposal Deadline January 24, 2025
In partnership with the National Science Foundation, NASA’s Science and Space Technology Mission Directorates offer a new pathway to participate in Innovation Corps (I-Corps). The NASA I-Corps Pilot aims to accelerate the transition of promising ideas from the lab to the marketplace, while encouraging collaboration between academia and industry. The NASA I-Corps Pilot will support teams with access to training in innovation and entrepreneurship skills through a grant, up to $10K, and the opportunity to apply for an additional $40K.
Proposals may be submitted at any time through March 28, 2025, but applications will be reviewed in intervals on the following dates: Sept. 13, 2024, Jan. 24, 2025, and March 28, 2025.
Audience: Teams with at least two members from higher education (two- to four-year institutions) or nonprofit institutions
Next Proposal Deadline: Jan. 24, 2025
Contact: margaret.a.yancey@nasa.gov
Power to Explore Student ChallengePower to Explore Student Challenge
Audience: Students in grades K-12
Entry Deadline: Jan. 31, 2025
Contact: support@futureengineers.org
The Power to Explore Student Challenge invites K-12 students to dream up a new space mission powered by a Radioisotope Power System (RPS) to any moon in our solar system. The writing contest is open to individual students attending U.S. public, private, charter, or home schools – including those in U.S. territories and schools operated by the U.S. for American personnel overseas. Forty-five semifinalists will receive an RPS prize pack, nine finalists will receive an exclusive virtual session with a NASA expert, and three winners will be awarded a trip for two to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Every student who enters will receive an invitation to a virtual event with NASA experts to learn about what powers the NASA workforce to dream big and explore.
NASA's LunaRecycle Challenge #ForTheCraterGood - Phase I Ends March 2025
This $3 million competition focuses on the design and development of recycling solutions that can reduce solid, inorganic waste and improve the sustainability of longer-term lunar missions. We're looking for innovative thinkers, engineers, students, scientists, hobbyists, and enthusiasts to revolutionize how we manage resources in space and inspire better approaches for terrestrial recycling here on Earth. The competition spans two phases over about three years, and teams can participate in either (or both!) competition tracks: prototype build or digital twin.
Informational webinars that outline the details of the challenge and its rules, desired outcomes, and submission processcan be found on social media and at the link above.
Engagement Opportunities in NASA STEM
EONS is an omnibus announcement that includes a range of NASA STEM Engagement opportunities for basic and applied science and technology research and education. Specific opportunities with individual requirements and milestones will be added periodically throughout the year as appendices to this solicitation as funds are made available for new awards. EONS opportunities are announced via the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) website and Grants.gov and prospective proposers are required to be registered on NSPIRES. Visit the EONS Grant Forecasting page to view upcoming or newly added opportunities throughout the year.