National Programs

An undergraduate-led lunar science mission.

GLEE is sending a mesh network of custom sensors, known as LunaSats, to conduct distributed lunar surface science. The mission will enable a better understanding of micro-meteorite impacts, moonquakes, and regolith properties. 

Help NASA figure out how to build on the Moon. Using lunar regolith simulant, students explore the properties of regolith, develop their own regolith-based concrete mixture, test its strength, and apply what they learn to design a habitat for future lunar missions. Registration opens every Fall.

Build a sounding rocket experiment and then watch it launch! In this 8-day workshop at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, students design payload then fly it aboard a suborbital sounding rocket. No prior experience is required! Teams of three (two students, one faculty member) apply as a college or university group.

Work alongside NASA scientists, engineers, and mission teams as a student intern. NASA offers OSTEM Internships, which are about 10–15 weeks, and open to STEM and non-STEM majors, current students and recent graduates. Pathways Internships are longer programs that rotate interns through multiple assignments and can lead to full-time employment. Sessions run three times a year (spring, summer, fall).

Design a mission architecture for NASA's next steps in space exploration. RASC-AL is an engineering design competition open to undergraduate and graduate teams, who develop concepts tied to NASA's Moon to Mars exploration goals Teams submit an initial proposal, and finalists go on to develop a full technical paper and present their work in person to NASA leaders and industry professionals. 

NCAS introduces community college students to aerospace career pathways through a Student Challenge, where students compete for awards by connecting their coursework to NASA career paths. Or participate in a Partner Institute Challenge, where colleges submit proposals for NASA funding to build new aerospace programs at community colleges. 

Send an experiment to the edge of space! Temas attach a payload to a high-altitude balloon flight for a chance to test small satellites and other projects in near-space conditions. It launches once a year each September from New Mexico, and HASP teams are not charged for the flight.

Design and build your own rover to tackle rugged, lunar like terrain. Over nine months, student teams design a human-powered or remote-controlled rover and race to compete! The final event in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams must complete a Design Review, Operational Readiness Review, Mission Readiness Review, and Excursion Readiness Review before final event. Team must pass each milestone to move onto the next.

Design a robot that could help build on the Moon. College students use NASA's engineering process to design, build, and operate a construction robot capable of working in lunar conditions. Teams compete at Kennedy Space Center in Florida each spring.

Design tool for astronauts, then watch professional divers test it underwater! Undergraduate teams build a device that solves a space exploration problem identified by NASA engineers, then see it tested by divers in a giant astronaut training pool at Johnson Space Center, with students directing the test from mission control. It's a hands-on way to contribute directly to NASA's exploration missions.

NASA SUITS (Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students)

Help design what astronauts see inside their helmets. College students build augmented reality interfaces for spacesuits, developing technology astronauts will need for spacewalks and surface exploration on the Moon and Mars. Selected teams test their designs at Johnson Space Center in a simulated spacewalk environment.