NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2018

Description

Contest

This annual contest, co-operated by NASA Ames Research Center, San Jose State University, and the National Space Society (NSS) is for all students up to 12th grade (18 years old) from anywhere in the world. Individuals, small teams of two to five, and large teams of six or more are judged separately. Entries are also grouped by age/grade of the oldest contestant for judging. The age groups are 7th and under, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. The grand prize is awarded to the best entry regardless of contestant age. Students develop space settlement designs and related materials. These are sent to NASA Ames for judgement. Submissions must be received by February 15. Check out the results of the 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 contests.

Contest deadline, prizes and certificates:

All submissions must be received by February 15.
A NASA certificate will be sent to all participants unless plagiarism is detected. By default we send paper certificates to the address on the entry form. Now you can opt to receive your certificates as pdfs sent to your email address, which is much faster and more reliable. There is a check box on the entry form.
The best submission, regardless of category, wins the grand prize, consisting of the space settlement submission being placed on the NASA Ames World Wide Web site.
The National Space Society (NSS) invites all 2018 contest participants to attend the NSS 37th annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in Los Angeles, USA May 24-27, 2018. Every year, hundreds of contestants attend, along with their parents, teachers, siblings and friends. Special activities for contestants are planned, including:
If the Grand Prize winner(s) come(s) to ISDC, they will receive the $3,000 NSS Bruce M. Clark, Jr. Memorial Space Settlement Award. If a team wins, the funds will be evenly divided amongst them. Reminder: the Grand Prize winner must attend ISDC to receive this award.
The highest ranking winners attending will be invited to give oral presentations as time is available.

To the extent space is available, all contestants who attend will be invited to display a poster of their work.

Special sessions are arranged for contestants, teachers, parents, etc.
These activities are not yet finalized and may change. Nonetheless, this is a tremendous opportunity to present your work, meet some of the most important people in space development as well as your fellow contestants, and have a great time.
If you are planning to attend ISDC 2018, please see the ISDC Space Settlement Students Web Site. Only if necessary, contact isdc.students@nss.org. Note: Contestants are responsible for all travel arrangements and costs, visas and conference expenses. Also, minors (children under 18) must be accompanied by a responsible adult (21 years or older). Among other potential problems, the hotel may not allow check in without an adult in the party.

Students from outside of U.S. planning on attending the ISDC should apply as soon as possible for a passport and (if necessary) a visa. It may take some time (months) to acquire them. If you need a letter of invitation, please use the form at https://www.nss.org/events/contest_invitation_form.shtml ONLY if that does not work, requests for letters of invitation can be sent to isdc.students@nss.org along with the school name, address, and names of students, teachers, or family members needing the letter.

Contest categories are

• 7th grade and under: individual, small group, large group,
• 8th grade: individual, small group, large group,
• 9th grade: individual, small group, large group,
• 10th grade: individual, small group, large group,
• 11th grade: individual, small group, large group,
• 12th grade: individual, small group, large group.
• Additional categories based on artistic and literary merit are also included in the contest.

Contestants give NASA the right to publish their submissions without restriction as a condition for entering the contest.
For additional information see the rest of this page and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).