MSGC Updates

There are quite a few upcoming opportunities happening over the next couple of months and the MSGC team wants to make sure that you are updated on the latest challenges, programs, internships, contests etc. 

Let the MSGC team know if you plan on participating by sending an email to mispacegrant@umich.edu

MSGC is now on Bluesky! We will continue to post on all of our social media accounts, but if you want to follow us there as well then you can do so at https://buff.ly/3ZxKCQm

First Nations Launch
Notice of Intent Deadline: Gateway Track – Monday, Dec. 9
https://myumi.ch/Jwy45
The annual First Nations Launch competition offers student teams the opportunity to demonstrate engineering and design skills through direct application in high-powered rocketry. Teams are guided through the engineering process on one of three tracks (Gateway, Moon, and Mars) to design, build, and fly high-powered rockets. Don’t have any engineering, design, or rocketry skills yet? Students from all majors can sign up for the no-experience-necessary Gateway track where they’ll receive all the instruction and support, they need to design, build, and fly their first rocket. Teams also give back to their communities by conducting outreach and serving as role models to inspire the next generation of explorers. The competition is managed by Wisconsin Space Grant and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

2025 LPI SUMMER INTERN PROGRAM IN PLANETARY SCIENCES
Program Dates: June 2–August 8, 2025
Application Deadline: December 12, 2024
https://myumi.ch/Jwz1Q
The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is accepting applications for the 2025 LPI Summer Intern Program! This 10-week, highly competitive program offers undergraduates a unique opportunity to work with scientists at LPI and NASA’s Johnson Space Center on cutting-edge research in planetary science.

Translational Research Institute for Space Health Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Proposal Deadline: Dec. 18
https://myumi.ch/zXWNA
The NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) is seeking proposals for its 2025 postdoctoral fellowship program, which supports early career scientists pursuing research with the potential to reduce the human health risks associated with spaceflight. Selected fellows will receive a two-year stipend, work with their identified mentor, and have the opportunity to participate in the institute’s Academy of Bioastronautics. TRISH encourages all qualified candidates to apply, even if they are new to space health research.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) CHIPS Challenge
Submission Deadline: Dec. 20
https://myumi.ch/W5EDW
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today launched the Career and Technical Education (CTE) CHIPS Challenge, a $1 million prize competition, funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins V) that seeks to expand student recruitment, training, and placement strategies in good-paying semiconductor fabrication (fab) construction and advanced manufacturing careers. White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden announced the CHIPS Challenge at a career and technical education roundtable in Detroit, Michigan today.

NASA L’SPACE Program – Spring 2025
Application Deadline: Friday, Jan. 10
https://myumi.ch/G4AwJ
The NASA Lucy Student Pathway Accelerator and Competency Enabler (L’SPACE) Program is a free, online, interactive program for students interested in pursuing a career with NASA or other space organizations. L’SPACE consists of two academies: the Mission Concept Academy and the NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience Academy. Students may participate in one academy per semester. Each 15-week academy is designed to provide unique, hands-on learning and insight into the dynamic world of the space industry. Students can expect to learn NASA mission procedures and protocols from industry professionals as they collaborate with fellow team members to complete mission-related team projects.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Undergraduate Scholarships
Application Deadline: Jan. 31, 2025
https://myumi.ch/pkN3d
The opportunities are open to undergraduate sophomores or third year students in a five year program and include paid NOAA internships and academic scholarships. Applications for the 2025 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship and José E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Undergraduate Scholarship are open annually September through January.

Call for Proposals: Future Investigator in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology
Audience: Researchers, graduate students, and Ph.D. scientists
Proposal Deadline: Feb. 5
https://myumi.ch/DrD9M
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate seeks proposals from accredited U.S. universities for research grants to begin in the 2025-26 academic year. Each proposal must identify a master’s or Ph.D. student, or both, in an eligible Earth- or space sciences-related discipline as the future investigator. Projects may propose up to a three-year period of performance. Visit the website for details and proposal requirements.

Student Suborbital Flight Opportunity: RockOn! 2025 Workshop
Audience: University and community college undergraduate students and faculty
Registration Deadline: Feb. 14, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST
Workshop Dates: June 20-26, 2025
https://myumi.ch/ypWkP
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is hosting a weeklong, hands-on workshop to teach participants how to create a sounding rocket experiment from scratch and launch it into space. Participants will work in teams of three (two students and one faculty member) to build an experiment that will fly on a sounding rocket to an altitude of more than 70 miles. No prior experience is needed.

NASA’s Gateways to Blue Skies Competition
Proposals Due February 17, 2025
https://myumi.ch/DrPm4
In the 2025 Blue Skies Competition, teams will conceptualize novel aviation systems that can be applied to agriculture by 2035 or sooner with the goal of improving production, efficiency, environmental impact, and extreme weather/climate resilience. Teams are encouraged to consider high-potential technologies and systems that aren’t currently mainstream or highly regarded as becoming mainstream in the future and imagine beyond applying sensors to aviation systems.

2025 RASC-AL Competition
Audience: Part-time and full-time undergraduate and graduate students attending accredited U.S.-based community colleges, colleges, and universities
Entry Deadline: Feb. 25, 2025
https://myumi.ch/dAqe7
The 2025 RASC-AL competition invites student teams to develop new concepts that leverage innovation to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This year, teams and their faculty advisors are invited to design and propose innovative solutions with supporting original engineering and analysis in response to one of the following themes: Sustained Lunar Evolution – An Inspirational Moment, Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign, and Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot. Up to 14 teams may be chosen to present their concepts at the 2025 RASC-AL Forum in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Each team will receive a monetary award to facilitate full participation in the RASC-AL Forum competition.

2025 Human Lander Challenge (HuLC)
Entry Proposal and Video Submission Deadline: March 3, 2025
https://myumi.ch/N6qER
In-space propulsion systems utilizing cryogenic liquids as propellants are necessary to achieve NASA’s exploration missions to the Moon and Mars. In today’s human scale, in-space propulsion vehicles, cryogenic liquids can be stored for several hours. For the planned Human Landing System mission architecture, cryogenic liquids must be stored on-orbit for several months. NASA’s 2025 HuLC Competition asks student teams to develop innovative, systems-level solutions to potential problems, and mature advanced cryogenic fluid technologies that can be implemented within three to five years. Based on a review of proposal package submissions, up to 12 teams will be selected to receive a monetary award to further develop their concept and facilitate full participation in the HuLC Forum, held in Huntsville, Alabama, in June 2025.

MSU Science Festival
April 1st-30th, 2025
https://myumi.ch/dAD8x
Save the date! The MSU Science Festival is back again for the 13th year on April 1st-30th. Stay tuned for more information! Presenters make sure to submit proposals by December 2nd!

Virtual and In-Person STEM Engagement Sessions: NQuest
Audience: STEM educators at Title I middle schools
Virtual Session Dates: Mondays and Tuesdays
In-Person Session Dates: Thursdays and Fridays
https://myumi.ch/PkXMq
NQuest (NASA Quest) offers no-cost STEM engagements to Title I middle schools. Through hands-on workshops, immersive planetarium shows, and interactive exhibits, NQuest was created to spark a lifelong interest in STEM for students. NQuest is available in-person at Chabot Space & Science Center as well as virtually nationwide. Sign-ups are available now.

LunaSustain Online Experience
Audience: Middle school students
https://myumi.ch/M6dXE
Take students on an interactive online journey from Earth to the Moon and beyond to learn about sustainability. LunaSustain encourages students to become “solutionaries” by using critical and creative thinking skills to look at sustainability in new ways. LunaSustain activities include calculating your carbon footprint and making a reusable t-shirt bag, learning about plastic pollution and limiting waste, making air breathable on the International Space Station, and conserving energy to live and work on the Moon. Through other destinations, students learn about water conservation and design a device to reduce their water usage. They also learn about the use of renewable energy and energy storage on Gateway, NASA’s lunar-orbiting station, and create a homemade battery from coins. Students who complete LunaSustain can sign their own “My Sustainability Pledge.”

Take a Virtual Journey With NASA STEM Kids: Artemis Missions to the Moon
Audience: Parents and caregivers of students in grades K-4
Registration Deadline: Monday, Dec. 9
Event Date: Saturday, Dec. 14, from 10-11:30 a.m. EST
https://myumi.ch/bE7Wj
Join the Office of STEM Engagement at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio for a virtual journey to the Moon. Young explorers will learn about NASA’s Artemis missions, engage in conversations with NASA experts, take a virtual tour of the Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory, and design and test their own crew modules.

The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge
Submissions due December 10, 2024
https://myumi.ch/egWVJ
Calling all 7–12 graders, individual quilters, crafters, and artists in the United States—we are seeking submissions for The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge! Learn about the history of textiles and sewing in space exploration from astronaut and artist Karen Nyberg, and then work to create your own quilt block based on the theme of the moon. Submit your quilt block design for a special opportunity to be included in a newly stitched official Lunar Quilt designed by Karen Nyberg. The Lunar Quilt will feature artwork from youth and quilt makers across America and will be on display at the Kennedy Center next spring! Submissions are open for students from Oct. 1–Nov. 29 (Oct. 1–Dec. 10 for quilt makers) and we are seeking submissions from 7–12 grade classrooms, educational community groups, and quilt makers in all 50 states. The winning quilt blocks will be picked by a jury consisting of Karen Nyberg; Bonnie Schrock, CEO of the National Quilt Museum; executives from NASA; and the Kennedy Center.

Black Girls Code X NASA: Workshop for Ages 10-13
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 11, at 6 p.m. EST
https://myumi.ch/Rmbn4
Black Girls Code is thrilled to partner with NASA for a one-of-a-kind, 90-minute interactive session designed for middle school students passionate about coding, computer science, and the exciting world of space exploration!
By signing up, participants will:
✨ Engage in a live conversation with NASA scientists, engineers, and computer scientists who use coding and CS skills daily in groundbreaking projects.
✨ Discover NASA’s current and upcoming missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, highlighting the critical role of coding and computer science in space exploration.
✨ Practice coding skills in a hands-on activity guided by members of the Black Girls Code and NASA teams.

NOAA Marine Debris Program Art Contest
Entry Deadline: Friday, Dec. 13
https://myumi.ch/3Qdbp
The NOAA Marine Debris Program holds an annual art contest to reach K-8 students and help raise awareness about marine debris. Marine debris is a global issue and we believe that engaging our youth is an important part of addressing the problem. The resulting calendar, featuring the winning artwork, provides a daily reminder of how important it is for us to be responsible stewards of the ocean. Students are highly encouraged to check out resources on this website for information about marine debris.

The 2025 NASA Student Art Contest
Submissions accepted December 1 through December 31, 2024
https://myumi.ch/AZP8g
NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia is inviting students in grades K-12 to participate in the 2025 NASA Langley Art Contest, using the theme “Our Wonder Changes the World.” The contest is open to children who are residents of the United States and currently in grade K-12. We are asking schools, organizations, and community groups to encourage parents and teachers to submit one entry per student. A grand-prize winner will be selected from all entries and a first-place, second-place, third-place, and honorable-mention winner will be selected for each grade level.

Power to Explore Student Challenge
Entry Deadline: Jan. 31, 2025
https://myumi.ch/xqDRj
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.

MSU Science Festival
April 1st-30th, 2025
https://myumi.ch/dAD8x
Save the date! The MSU Science Festival is back again for the 13th year on April 1st-30th. Stay tuned for more information! Presenters make sure to submit proposals by December 2nd!

NASA GLOBE Observer Intensive Observation Period: Urban Heat Island Effect/Surface Temperature
Audience: All educators, students, parents and caregivers
Observation Dates: Now through Tuesday, Dec. 31
https://myumi.ch/23wEe
Cities tend to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them. This Urban Heat Island Effect is the result of concrete, asphalt, and a lack of trees. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program invites you to collect temperature data near you to help scientists better understand this phenomenon. During the month of December, collect data and share using the GLOBE Observer app or the GLOBE website.

Get Ready to GOES With Virtual Visits
https://myumi.ch/r8eJZ
Are you interested in enhancing your Earth and space science lessons with STEM experts? Connect your students with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R Series) weather satellite program during a Virtual Visit. Through the magic of virtual learning, participants can interact with experts from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 30- to 45-minute-long live programs to learn more about the GOES-R Series, the Western Hemisphere’s most sophisticated weather-observing and environmental monitoring system, and its benefits to daily life.

The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge
Submissions due December 10, 2024
https://myumi.ch/egWVJ
Calling all 7–12 graders, individual quilters, crafters, and artists in the United States—we are seeking submissions for The Next Giant Leap: Lunar Quilt Block Challenge! Learn about the history of textiles and sewing in space exploration from astronaut and artist Karen Nyberg, and then work to create your own quilt block based on the theme of the moon. Submit your quilt block design for a special opportunity to be included in a newly stitched official Lunar Quilt designed by Karen Nyberg. The Lunar Quilt will feature artwork from youth and quilt makers across America and will be on display at the Kennedy Center next spring! Submissions are open for students from Oct. 1–Nov. 29 (Oct. 1–Dec. 10 for quilt makers) and we are seeking submissions from 7–12 grade classrooms, educational community groups, and quilt makers in all 50 states. The winning quilt blocks will be picked by a jury consisting of Karen Nyberg; Bonnie Schrock, CEO of the National Quilt Museum; executives from NASA; and the Kennedy Center.

Summer Institute – LiftOff 2025: Flight Paths Toward Innovation
Audience: Teachers of grades 5-12
Application Deadline: Dec. 20
Institute Dates: June 22-27, 2025
https://myumi.ch/7PGJE
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.

Summer Research Team Program For Minority Serving Institutions – Faculty 2025
Application Deadline: Dec. 30 at 11:59 p.m. EST
https://myumi.ch/qV3eg
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program for Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) is now accepting applications from faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) interested in participating in a summer research team experience. Selected Faculty will be invited to submit a Team Application including a Research Project Proposal developed in collaboration with a DHS Center researcher and applications from one or two qualified students. The program seeks to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at MSIs in research areas that support the mission and goals of DHS. This program provides faculty and student research teams with the opportunity to conduct research at the university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers). At the end of the ten-week appointment, faculty collaborate with center to apply for up to $100,000 in follow-on funding to continue research during the 2025-2026 academic year at the faculty’s home academic institution.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
Nomination Deadline: Jan. 6, 2025
https://myumi.ch/Pk8bx
The Nation’s Highest Honors for Teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM, including Computer Science)

NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Program
Audience: Full-time faculty at U.S. accredited academic institutions
Application Deadline: Jan. 12, 2025
https://myumi.ch/nyQne
NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio is seeking applicants for a 10-week summer faculty fellowship opportunity. This program aims to enhance faculty professional knowledge and enrich the research and teaching at U.S. academic institutions by infusing NASA mission-related research and technology content into classroom instruction. Participants help to advance NASA’s mission by contributing to research, technology, and engineering work.

U.S. Department of Education: School Ambassador Fellowship Program
Application Deadline: Jan. 13, 2025
https://myumi.ch/jZXE2
The School Ambassador Fellowship supports the Department’s mission by leveraging a cadre of outstanding educators to contribute their classroom and school expertise to the national education dialogue and in turn facilitate discussions with educators across the country. For the Fellows, the program adds greater knowledge of educational policy and leadership to their toolkits, allowing them to further contribute to solutions at all levels for long, intractable challenges in education.

Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators
Application Deadline: Jan. 15, 2025
https://myumi.ch/5ypQy
The Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators recognizes outstanding kindergarten through grade 12 teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students. Up to two teachers from each of EPA’s 10 regions, from different states, will be selected to receive this award. The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers this award to honor, support and encourage educators who incorporate environmental education in their classrooms and teaching methods.

President’s Environmental Youth Award
Application Deadline: Jan. 15, 2025
https://myumi.ch/wyWwp
Your student’s project could be an award winner! Encourage your students with an existing environmental stewardship project or an idea for a project to apply so that their achievements can be further recognized. Applicants from all 50 states as well as U.S. territories are eligible to compete for a national Presidential award.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Teacher Innovator Institute
Application Deadline: Jan. 20, 2025
https://myumi.ch/23ejp
Spend two weeks in Washington, DC, working with education and STEAM experts to explore the connections between informal STEAM education and authentic learning.
Propose and develop goals for your own professional development, gain the skills to incorporate museum learning into your practice, and meet colleagues from around the country. There is no cost for teachers to participate and most expenses are paid by the Museum. The National Air and Space Museum’s Teacher Innovator Institute (TII) will welcome up to 30 teachers from across the United States each summer. Teachers will remain with the program for two summers, returning to Washington, DC in year two to reconnect, develop their practice, and mentor the newest class of Teacher Innovators.

Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring
Nomination Deadline: Jan. 22, 2025
https://myumi.ch/Rm7Qz
Nominate outstanding mentors and mentorship organizations now for this award year.

STEM Teacher Leadership Academy in Washington, D.C.
Application Deadline: Feb. 28, 2025
https://myumi.ch/XGePx
Join the next cohort of accomplished STEM teachers as they take on deep inquiry, informal learning connections, and career-based learning opportunities alongside engineers, researchers, and museum specialists. Be a part of a community of teacher leaders who wish to expand upon their practice, explore basic science research, and return to the classroom feeling energized and empowered. This program is designed for K-12 teachers in around the National Capital Region who seek to infuse science, technology, engineering, and math into their lessons and explore the world of basic science research. Participants in this program will receive a $1,000 stipend following their participation in the program.

NASA’s LunaRecycle Challenge
Deadline: March 31, 2025
https://myumi.ch/3QJ9z
NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program just announced their new LunaRecycle Challenge: a $3 million, two track, two-phase competition focused on the design and development of recycling solutions that can reduce solid waste and improve the sustainability of longer-term lunar missions.

MSU Science Festival
April 1st-30th, 2025
https://myumi.ch/dAD8x
Save the date! The MSU Science Festival is back again for the 13th year on April 1st-30th. Stay tuned for more information! Presenters make sure to submit proposals by December 2nd!