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

Pi Day!
https://myumi.ch/pVDJq
Tomorrow is 3.14, also known as March 14, and more affectionately known as Pi Day!
Celebrate by testing your mathematical skills with an illustrated planetary puzzler from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This year, take a slice out of Pi Days past and pick your favorite Pi Day Challenge from the archives. Visit the site to learn more about pi and how NASA scientists and engineers use this mathematical wonder to explore the universe.

FBI Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit Opportunity
Applications Accepted on a Rolling Basis
https://myumi.ch/D8kQw
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit’s (CFSRU) provides technical leadership for the FBI as well as for other law enforcement and intelligence agencies through applied research and development. As a participant with the Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit (CFSRU) Visiting Scientist Program (VSP), you will have an opportunity to enhance your professional development and increase your research capabilities and contributions by participating in forensic research initiatives utilizing state-of-the-art equipment under the mentorship of CFSRU scientists. The VSP will expose you to a research environment in a high security government facility and provides an opportunity to perform research in areas of interest unique to law enforcement and national security.

2025 Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) Summer School
Applications close March 20, 2025
https://myumi.ch/8q1Dq
The 2025 ISR summer school will include a mandatory virtual session (via Zoom) on July 14, 2025 followed by the in-person school at University of Alaska (Fairbanks) July 20-26, 2025. The school’s goal is to train students in the theory and concepts of incoherent scatter radar and allows for hands-on opportunities to design and run experiments at ISR facilities. This year’s school will focus on high-latitude / auroral observations using the Poker Flat ISR (PFISR) as a part of the NSF supported Geospace Facility. ISRs are the most powerful ground-based tools for ionospheric remote sensing with high temporal and altitudinal resolution. ISR data sets include measurements of electron density, electron and ion temperatures, and plasma drifts, with the possibility of further derived parameters.

NASA TechLeap Prize – Space Technology Payload Challenge
Application Deadline: March 20, 2025
https://myumi.ch/W57Vr
Managed by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, this challenge seeks ideas for systems that advance technology to address one or more of NASA’s shortfalls. NASA intends to award up to nine prizes worth up to $500,000 each plus the opportunity for a flight test aboard a suborbital vehicle, rocket-powered lander, high-altitude balloon, aircraft following a reduced gravity profile (i.e., parabolic flight), or orbital vehicle that can host payloads. Visit the challenge website to read the application requirements, rules, technical guidelines, and scoring rubric that will be used to assess all valid applications.

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. Learn more, view the full schedule and register students today.

International Space Station Research and Development Conference Call for Abstracts
Submission Deadline: Friday, April 18
https://myumi.ch/bVZ8e
Low Earth orbit offers research and development opportunities across a wide variety of disciplines. The International Space Station (ISS) is a valuable platform for experiments and technology demonstrations that benefit life on Earth and in space.

Department of Energy: New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program Opportunity
Application Deadline: May 9
https://myumi.ch/R3k7m
The New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (NM LEEP) is a unique program tailored to help passionate entrepreneurs bridge the gap between groundbreaking innovation and commercialization through expert mentorship, business support, and the talent and resources of Los Alamos National Laboratory. You will leverage our vast network of investors, government agencies, and world-class subject matter experts to advance your technology and find product-market fit rapidly.

2025 Kibo Robot Programming Challenge – Call for U.S. Teams
Registration Deadline: May 12
https://myumi.ch/y1rWX
The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) – hosted by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) – invites teams of students to create programs to move free-flying robots known as Astrobees on the International Space Station. The competition presents tasks/obstacles for high school and college students to solve using the space station’s Kibo module as a game space. Preliminary rounds will be held in multiple countries using ground-based simulations. Registration for the U.S. Preliminary Round, conducted by NASA, is open now.

NASA Space Waste Revolution Challenge
Application Deadline: May 16
https://myumi.ch/JPrGq
As we venture farther into space and establish a long-term presence, managing waste becomes critical. Current methods of discarding or burning waste upon re-entry are not sustainable for lunar missions. NASA is seeking contributors for a groundbreaking research initiative focused on recycling polymer waste in space environments. Selected participants, working individually or in teams, will research cutting-edge recycling technologies, analyze market landscapes, and develop recommendations for NASA’s space sustainability initiatives.

Pi Day!
https://myumi.ch/pVDJq
Tomorrow is 3.14, also known as March 14, and more affectionately known as Pi Day!
Celebrate by testing your mathematical skills with an illustrated planetary puzzler from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This year, take a slice out of Pi Days past and pick your favorite Pi Day Challenge from the archives. Visit the site to learn more about pi and how NASA scientists and engineers use this mathematical wonder to explore the universe.

Join the STEM Next 2025 Flight Crew
Audience: Students ages 13-18
Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 12
https://myumi.ch/A1dEx
The Flight Crew program features remarkable youth leaders who share their stories on regional, state and national stages; participate in mentorship opportunities; and lend their voices to push for more STEM opportunities in out-of-school-time.

National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C.
Event Dates: March 19-22
https://myumi.ch/XG96J
The National STEM Festival celebrates the exceptional talents of our nation’s youth and the innovative businesses driving progress, all year round.

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. Learn more, view the full schedule and register students today.

Building Insights Through Observation (BIO) – Teaching with Data Visualizations in Middle School Science
Event Date: Wednesday, April 9
https://myumi.ch/Nr1Ap
Explore an innovative model to help middle school students make sense of Earth and Environmental Science phenomena through data visualization! Attendees will participate in a program that uses arts-based approaches to support sensemaking and data skills and get access to classroom-ready resources. Data literacy is critical for addressing real-world challenges. However, making sense of complex data can be formidable and the public often lacks the transdisciplinary skills needed to understand, make sense of, and think critically about data. To develop these skills and build student capacity to connect data to content knowledge and create meaning, a new model was developed for middle school science classrooms. Building Insights through Observation (BIO) uses hands-on, arts-based approaches with science content and geospatial data visualizations and is adaptable for most Earth and Environmental Science topics. It allows differentiation for learners, pacing and discussion, and supports student-driven sensemaking. Attendees will experience the program as students, reflect on how the approach supports teaching and learning, and access free classroom-ready resources. Teachers experienced in implementing the BIO model will assist attendees to understand and adapt it for their needs.

Genes in Space
Applications due April 14, 2025
https://myumi.ch/wyRDJ
A free experimental design competition where students in grades 7-12 propose research projects to be carried out in space. While one winner has their experiment carried out aboard the International Space Station, all contestants learn about current space biology research and engage in the scientific process as they design their experiments.

Eye on the Future Teen Video Contest
Entry Deadline: Sunday, April 20
https://myumi.ch/E8xeM
U.S. high school students, show us your science for a chance to win $2,000 cash and a trip to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. But hurry—this year’s contest ends on April 20, 2025.

2025 Kibo Robot Programming Challenge – Call for U.S. Teams
Registration Deadline: May 12
https://myumi.ch/y1rWX
The Kibo Robot Programming Challenge (Kibo-RPC) – hosted by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) – invites teams of students to create programs to move free-flying robots known as Astrobees on the International Space Station. The competition presents tasks/obstacles for high school and college students to solve using the space station’s Kibo module as a game space. Preliminary rounds will be held in multiple countries using ground-based simulations. Registration for the U.S. Preliminary Round, conducted by NASA, is open now.

Summer 2025 GeneLab for High Schools Program
Application Deadline: Thursday, May 15
Program Dates: June 2 – Aug. 29
https://myumi.ch/QwNpD
NASA’s GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS) program offers 12 weeks of on-demand training sponsored by NASA’s Ames Research Center. GL4HS immerses students in space life sciences with a specific focus on computational biology and omics-based bioinformatics research, the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes.

Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge
Submissions are due May 27
https://myumi.ch/n1k3A
Calling all designers! This is your opportunity to design the zero gravity indicator that will fly around the Moon during the Artemis II mission. This small plush object will travel inside the Orion capsule with the Artemis II astronauts to indicate when the spacecraft reaches microgravity. Submissions must include drawings or renderings of the object, along with a short description of the design. When fabricated, designs must fit into a 6” x 6” x 6” (15.25 cm x 15.25 cm x 15.25 cm) box and not exceed 0.75 lbs. (0.34 kg).

Federal Aviation Administration Airport Design Challenge
Entries due 8/1
https://myumi.ch/P3n8n
The Airport Design Challenge (ADC) is an interactive learning and collaboration opportunity for students in grades K-12. The FAA Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Aviation and Space Education (STEM AVSED) Program organizes and sponsors this exciting challenge.

Pi Day!
https://myumi.ch/pVDJq
Tomorrow is 3.14, also known as March 14, and more affectionately known as Pi Day!
Celebrate by testing your mathematical skills with an illustrated planetary puzzler from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This year, take a slice out of Pi Days past and pick your favorite Pi Day Challenge from the archives. Visit the site to learn more about pi and how NASA scientists and engineers use this mathematical wonder to explore the universe.

Participatory Science Opportunity: EZIE-Magnetometer
Applications Open Now
https://myumi.ch/2r5eM
EZIE-Mag – short for EZIE- Magnetometer – is an instrument that measures the Earth’s magnetic field. The magnetic field extends from the Earth’s interior to space, where it interacts with the solar wind, which comes from the Sun. The EZIE-Mag is a sensitive instrument that allows precise measurement of the magnetic field to support the EZIE Mission. As part of NASA’s EZIE Mission, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab is distributing these instruments to indigenous communities, classrooms, museums/science centers, and libraries around the United States. The EZIE mission consist of three spacecraft flying in a polar orbit. The spacecraft will make measurements of the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere. The EZIE-Mag enables learners to make measurements that are science quality and will be combined with the spacecraft measurements. This will also allow EZIE Mission scientists to better understand how our Earth is interacting with space. EZIE-Mag distribution will begin spring 2025 to align with the Mission’s launch in March 2025. The magnetometer needs to deployed outside and away from noise sources such as cars, bicycles, cell phones, air conditioners, and other magnetic items. Be on the lookout for activities to support your EZIE-Mag throughout the year.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: My Flight, My Space
Available Now
https://myumi.ch/Xy2NP
Explore the wonders of Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum virtually using our My Flight, My Space learning platform!

Help Scientists Search for Asteroids Around Dead Stars
Audience: Science enthusiasts of all ages
https://myumi.ch/Mkb8W
Do you ever wonder what the future holds for our solar system? The Sun will eventually become a dense, planet-sized object called a white dwarf. That means studying white dwarfs we see in the sky can provide a glimpse into our own solar system’s fate.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Interstellar Animation: Stop Motion With Students
Event Date: Tuesday, March 18
https://myumi.ch/e3kqr
Join us on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 from 8:00-9:15pm ET for a live, virtual exploration of stop motion animation. Unleash your students’ creativity through the medium of stop motion animation and try your hand at your own aviation-inspired animation. In this session, we will walk you through the basics of the art form and share ways you can integrate animation into your classroom
Use the form below to sign up for this free, virtual professional development session. Reminder emails and a Zoom link will be sent one week prior, and the day before. Registration closes on March 14th.

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.

United States Patent and Trademark Office: National Summer Teacher Institute
Application Deadline: March 31
https://myumi.ch/jZb1m
The National Summer Teacher Institute (NSTI) is a free, multi-day professional development training opportunity designed to support elementary, middle, and high school teachers as they increase their knowledge of concepts of making, inventing, and intellectual property (IP) creation and protection. NSTI is designed to help teachers inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. The program is open to eligible K-12 teachers nationwide. It combines experiential training tools, practices, and project-based learning models.

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. Learn more, view the full schedule and register students today.

NASA Space Apps Challenge Seeks Local Leads for 2025 Hackathon
Application Deadline: June 1
https://myumi.ch/G2z31
The NASA Space Apps Challenge is in search of local leads for this year’s hackathon taking place October 4-5. Local leads work alongside the NASA Space Apps global organizing team to organize the hackathon in their own city or town. This includes planning a virtual or in-person local event, supporting local participants, and coordinating local collaborators, judges, and community members.