Updates

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

Higher Education Opportunities

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 Internships: Fall 2025
Applications for fall 2025 internships are due Friday, May 16.
https://myumi.ch/9pp6y
NASA offers several opportunities for students to undertake meaningful and challenging projects that prepare them for successful entry into the nation’s workforce. NASA interns learn key technical skills and career readiness competencies while contributing to NASA’s mission.

Institute of Education Sciences Workshop: Data Science Methods for Digital Learning Platforms
Application Deadline: Friday, May 16
https://myumi.ch/e33AMThis training is an online and asynchronous 16-week program that teaches participants to use both algorithms designed specifically for digital learning platforms and how to effectively apply algorithms developed for more general purposes to digital learning platform data. The training is supported by the Data Science Methods for Digital Learning Platforms grant made under NCER’s Research Training in the Education Sciences competition. Applications to participate in the training will be accepted until May 16, 2025. Click on the ‘Register’ button to apply.

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.

MSTA Webinar: Fish Habitats and Underwater Remote Operated Vehicles
Join us on May 21, 2025, from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (EDT) for Fish Habitats and Underwater Remote Operated Vehicles presented by Amy Pihlainen-Gabler from AuTrain-Onota Public Schools.
https://myumi.ch/A11kMDuring this session, Amy will share her students’ inspiring three-year journey building and wiring underwater remote operated vehicles (ROVs). Their projects have not only earned trophies—they’ve led to collaborations with conservation districts and even scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, including a senior member of the Titanic expedition.

Dragonfly Student and Early Career Investigator Program
Application Deadline: June 9
https://myumi.ch/Mkrbe
Set to launch in 2028, NASA’s Dragonfly mission will send a rotorcraft lander to explore a variety of locations on Saturn’s moon Titan. Graduate students are invited to apply for a two-year term to work with Dragonfly mission team members to conduct Titan research, help formulate Dragonfly mission science and operations plans, or assist in the development of instrumentation, hardware, or testing. Applicants must be U.S. citizens pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in the physical sciences, biological sciences, computer sciences, mathematics, or engineering. Undergraduate STEM students who will be graduating with bachelor’s degrees in May 2025 are also eligible to apply, provided that they will be enrolled in STEM graduate programs in fall 2025.

Call for Proposals: NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s University Leadership Initiative
Proposal Deadline: Thursday, June 26
https://myumi.ch/A11W4
The University Leadership Initiative provides the opportunity for university teams to exercise leadership in proposing technical challenges, defining multidisciplinary solutions, establishing peer review mechanisms, and applying innovative strategies to strengthen research impact. Multiple awards are anticipated with nominal annual budgets in the $1 to 2 million range per award. Awards will have a maximum duration of four years.

NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowships
Application Deadline: Tuesday, July 1, at 6 p.m. EDT
https://myumi.ch/79936
The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers early career and senior scientists fellowships (awarded annually up to three years) with NASA scientists and engineers. Opportunities relate to missions in Earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, space bioscience, aeronautics, engineering, human exploration and space operations, astrobiology, and science management. Applicants must have completed a doctorate or an equivalent degree before beginning the fellowship, but they may apply while completing degree requirements.

PSYCHE INSPIRED APPLICATION 2025-2026 (PLATINUM CLASS)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Friday, August 29, 2025, at 12 p.m. (noon) Pacific Daylight Time (PDT).
https://myumi.ch/NrrMz
The Psyche Inspired application for the 2025-2026 academic year is now open. Psyche Inspired is a program that brings undergraduate students from any discipline or major together to share the excitement, innovation, and scientific and engineering content of NASA’s Psyche mission with the public in new ways through artistic and creative works.

HELIOTECH2025
September 2025 | Washington DC Metro
https://myumi.ch/6113m
In 2025, HESTO HELIOTECH will collaborate with NASA’s Suborbital Symposium for a weeklong joint event. Held September 2025 in the Washington, DC metro area, this joint symposium will foster collaboration between technologists, PIs, and suborbital platforms.

Boys and Girls Clubs Invited to Take Virtual Trips to Extreme Environments
Applications Open Now
https://myumi.ch/z99wG
Boys & Girls Clubs (BGCs) throughout the United States interested in participating in the VIRTEX program are invited to apply! Club teams of 10 to 20 students will virtually meet with their Mentors, who conduct research in extreme environments such as remote field locations, unique laboratory settings, aircraft, mountain tops, underwater laboratories, and more! With curriculum, training, and support, Club staff will facilitate teams of students (ages 10-15) as they prepare to meet with their NASA Mentor and explore activities that connect to STEM careers, NASA research, problem-solving skills, and communication and collaboration.

Virtual Career Connection: Equipment Specialist
Event Date: Thursday, May 15, at 1 p.m. ET
https://myumi.ch/P3365
Join us for a virtual event featuring one of the Career Technical Education (CTE) jobs at NASA helping to shape the future of transportation, technology, and exploration. Ever wonder what it takes to make a wind tunnel run? Hear from one of NASA’s equipment specialists as they talk about how they maintain and fix some of the most advanced machinery in the world, ensuring that everything runs safely and smoothly. Following the presentation, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about the presenter’s career journey.

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).

2 Summer Camps in Computer Science at Eastern Michigan University
Bits & Bytes middle school camp: June 23 – 27
Gigabytes high school camp: July 21-25
https://myumi.ch/9pg4P
These are week-long summer camps for girls in middle school and high school. Both camps are hosted on-campus, in the Computer Science department. The dates for 2025 camps are as follows: This is the ninth year for Bits & Bytes and third for Gigabytes. Both camps are sponsored by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, funded by NASA. The camps are free-of-cost, except for a $50 registration fee (some scholarships are available).

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.

Design the Mission Patch for NASA’s Next HERA Campaign
Submission Deadline: Oct. 15
https://myumi.ch/VVVMx
Did you know NASA simulates crewed space missions with the Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)? HERA is a two-and-a-half story, 650-square-foot habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In 2026, four missions will take place inside HERA with crews of four volunteers who will live isolated and confined during 45-day simulated trips to the Moon. K-12 students at private and public schools in the U.S. are invited to design the patches for these upcoming missions. Winners will work with a Human Research Program graphic designer to turn their concept into a reality.

New Documentary from U.S. Space Force: Always Above
Available Now
https://myumi.ch/R331X
Since the beginning of time, people have gazed upward at the night sky in fascination. But most people don’t realize what is up there or how much our modern way of life depends on the thousands of satellites that fly around our planet. Orbiting the Earth are satellites that allow us to communicate with each other, monitor the weather, help us get to where we’re going and keep our country safe. ALWAYS ABOVE explores how close space is to our daily lives and the role that the U.S. Space Force plays in launching, operating and defending these assets. This 12-minute, visually stunning journey will take audiences from the depths of the ocean to thousands of miles into space. ALWAYS ABOVE is an inspiring, educational experience for people of all ages who have ever looked to the skies and asked, “What’s up there?”

NASA+ Documentary: Planetary Defenders
https://myumi.ch/W662A
How would humanity respond if we discovered an asteroid headed for Earth? Journey alongside a dedicated team of astronomers and scientists working tirelessly to track and monitor near-Earth asteroids, aiming to protect our planet from potential impacts.

Night Sky Network Webinar: Placing Worlds and Suns in Context
Event Date: Thursday, May 15, at 9 p.m. EDT
https://myumi.ch/dggkq
An exoplanet is any planet beyond our solar system. Most of them orbit other stars, but some free-floating exoplanets, called rogue planets, are untethered to any star. We’ve confirmed more than 5,800 exoplanets out of the billions that we believe exist. Join the NASA Night Sky Network for a webinar featuring Dr. Eric E. Mamajek, deputy program chief scientist for the NASA Exoplanet Exploration Program. Learn about planets beyond our own solar system and how we discover them.

Webinar: Minerals on Mars
Event Date: Tuesday, May 20, at 1 p.m. EDT
https://myumi.ch/9ppD1
Minerals are the key to better understanding past Martian environments and whether they were habitable to microbial life. Join the NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) team for a discussion of the minerals identified on the Martian surface that formed from liquid water, highlighting the results from the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover’s CheMin instrument, which has been studying sedimentary rocks in Gale crater since landing in 2012. These minerals tell a fascinating story of changing environments on ancient Mars. This webinar is targeting educator-led high school students, college students and professors, but all audiences welcome to register.

Contact Opportunity: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
Proposal Deadline: Friday, May 23
https://myumi.ch/pV7D1
On Monday, April 7, ARISS will begin accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host an amateur radio contact with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station between January 1 and June 30, 2026. To maximize these events, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed STEM engagement plan. Radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes.

Smithsonian Exploring Space Lecture: Did Venus Ever Have Oceans?
Event Date: Wednesday, May 28, at 8 p.m. EDT
https://myumi.ch/155Ar
Often called Earth’s twin, there is much debate over Venus’ status as a watery world: If Venus had oceans, where did all that water go? Join Rita Parai from Washington University in St. Louis as she explores the question “Did Venus Ever Have Oceans?” She will also discuss a current mission concept that hopes to return a sample of Venus’s atmosphere for analysis here on Earth to further enhance our understanding of the planet Venus. Rita Parai is an assistant professor of geochemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. Her laboratory for high-precision noble gas isotopic analyses pursues high-precision measurements of isotopes in rocks to better understand the formation and evolution of planetary bodies. This lecture series is made possible by the generous support of Aerojet Rocketdyne: An L3Harris Technologies Company and United Launch Alliance.

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.

SPACE Conference for Educators at Kennedy Space Center, FL
June 25-27, 2025
https://myumi.ch/kPPx1
This annual event is of great significance and impact in the field of space and science education. Scheduled for June 25-27, 2025, at Kennedy Space Center, SPACE provides an immersive and enriching experience for educators, offering educator-led workshops, education and SME presentations, and hands-on activities that align with STEM curriculum objectives. Through engaging with experts in the field, accessing behind-the-scenes operations of Kennedy Space Center, and gaining access to cutting-edge resources, educators can enhance their teaching practices and inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators.

2025 IDEAS Educator Workshop
Workshop: July 7 – 10, 2025
https://myumi.ch/qZGkd
Registration is now open for the summer 2025 “IDEAS” Educator Workshop! The IDEAS Team is comprised of the South Carolina Space Grant Consortium (SCSGC), North Carolina Space Grant Consortium (NCSGC), and the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium (NDSGC). This hands-on workshop is funded by NASA’s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. The overall goal of this workshop is to share new teaching strategies in support of different learning modalities in NASA and STEM lessons and activities for both K-12 and informal education settings. The 2025 workshop will focus on new and innovative technologies to integrate into the classroom. Participants will be eligible to earn two Professional Development credits (30 hours) through the University of North Dakota. Interested educators are highly encouraged to contact their local Space Grant Consortium to inquire about potential funding sponsorship to attend the workshop. Attendance is limited to 30 participants.