MSGC Updates

Here you can find the the latest challenges, programs, internships, webinars, and more. Sign up to receive our monthly email updates!

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

Call for Proposals: Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology

Proposal Deadline: Tuesday, July 14

Contact: HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) seeks proposals from accredited U.S. universities or other grant-eligible organizations for research grants to begin no earlier than 2027. Each proposal must identify a graduate student as a future investigator. Projects must contribute to SMD’s science, technology, and exploration goals. Proposals may request funding for up to three years.

For full details and proposal requirements, visit the FINESST website and read the document starting with “F.5.”

CanSat Competition

2027 Competition Guide to be posted in August

The CanSat Competition provides university students with a unique, real-world aerospace engineering experience. This annual international competition challenges teams to design, build, test, and launch a simulated satellite payload that must meet specific mission requirements. Through the complete engineering lifecycle—from concept development and systems integration to flight operations—students gain valuable technical expertise while strengthening their teamwork, leadership, and project management skills. 

Next year’s launch date: June 10 – 13, 2027, Monterey, VA

NASA TechLeap Prize – Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge

Registration Deadline:

Wednesday, July 29

Application Deadline:

Wednesday, Aug. 12

Contact: hello@nasatechleap.org

Managed by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, this challenge aims to advance persistent infrastructure for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Applicants are invited to propose payloads that can interact with, be manipulated by, or be reconfigured by a robotic arm in low Earth orbit. Up to three winners will be selected, with the opportunity to win up to $500,000 each across three phases. NASA intends to fly these payloads aboard an orbital spacecraft that will rendezvous with the Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) platform. The FFR mission is expected to launch in late 2027, and the TechLeap payloads are slated to launch in early 2028.

Visit the challenge website to read the application requirements, rules, technical guidelines, and scoring rubric that will be used to assess all valid applications.

Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table

Registration Deadline: July 31

Entry Deadline: Aug. 14

Contact: hq-stmd-centennialchallenges@mail.nasa.gov

As NASA plans for deep space missions that could last months or years, new ways to feed astronauts that are independent of Earth must be developed. The Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table is a global competition inviting chefs, innovators, culinary experts, higher-education students, and citizen scientists to design a complete, Earth-independent food system for long-duration space missions. U.S. participants will compete for part of a prize purse of up to $750,000 from NASA. International teams are also eligible to participate and receive recognition. Click here to learn more.

NASA Psyche Inspired Internship

Application Deadline: Friday, Aug. 28

Contact: https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu/contact/

NASA’s Psyche mission invites full-time, enrolled undergraduate students majoring in any subject at universities and community colleges in the U.S. and its territories to apply to become part of this year’s cohort of Psyche Inspired interns. Psyche Inspired brings undergraduate students together to share the excitement, innovation, and scientific and engineering content of NASA’s Psyche mission with the public through artistic and creative works.

Advancing America’s Leadership in Space

Challenge deadline: June 30, 2026

America’s Space University invites you to help shape the future of space.

The UCF Space Ideation Challenge calls on bold thinkers to develop practical, high-impact ideas that strengthen U.S. leadership in space. Hosted by UCF, a university that was founded to help land humans on the moon, this national competition challenges participants to design innovative, market-shaping policy solutions—ideas that can accelerate space innovation, advance national security and science, and grow the space economy. Participants DO NOT need to be enrolled or affiliated with UCF to win.

The best proposals won’t just win prizes; they’ll be shared with top decision-makers shaping America’s space future.

New NASA Force Hiring Initiative

Explore NASA Force Careers

NASA Force is a brand-new, elite hiring initiative designed to recruit the next generation of technical talent directly into mission-critical roles. This program is an incredible opportunity for your recent graduates and early-career professionals to jumpstart their careers by working on high-impact projects like the Artemis missions and lunar rover development.

Through term-based appointments (typically 1–2 years), NASA Force allows innovators to bring their skills to the forefront of space exploration while gaining unparalleled experience within the agency.

• Target Audience: Engineers, technologists, and innovators ready to enter the workforce.
• The Mission: Contribute to U.S. leadership in space, aeronautics, and deep-space exploration.

How to Apply: Positions are posted via USAJOBS.gov.

NASA Artemis II Human Research Data Methodology Challenge

Submission Deadline: Friday, June 5

Contact: hrpchallenge@floor23digital.com

NASA’s Human Research Program is conducting three studies of data collected during the Artemis II mission that sent astronauts around the Moon. The studies will generate a dataset collected from four subjects – a sample size that renders most conventional statistical approaches either inapplicable or unreliable.

The NASA Artemis II Human Research Data Methodology Challenge asks participants to consider any proven methodology that addresses extracting maximum insights from limited, high-dimensional, multi-modal data. Participation is limited to United States citizens, permanent residents, and qualifying entities. The challenge carries a total monetary prize pool of $25,000, distributed among up to fifteen winners.

Click here to learn more.

The Air Force Science & Technology Fellowship Program

Applications Accepted on a Rolling Basis
https://myumi.ch/G2q1M

The Air Force Science and Technology Fellowship Program (AF STFP), funded by the United States Air Force, provides a platform for outstanding scientists and engineers to engage in vital research and development efforts. Through a competitive selection process, the program identifies exceptionally talented individuals at various career stages, from recent graduates to experienced researchers, offering them the opportunity to conduct self-directed research at Air Force facilities.

Send your name into space!

Scheduled to launch Aug. 30, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will embark on a mission to study dark energy, exoplanets, and astrophysics.

Want your name to go along for the ride? Sign up to have your name uploaded to an SD card that will be attached to the observatory for its journey to a point one million miles away from Earth. The submission period closes Sunday, July 12.

Go For Launch! Flint

Dates: July 23-24, 8 am – 6 pm

Registration fee of $75, with financial assistance available

Join Higher Orbits for an exhilarating two-day event in Flint, MI, where aspiring astronauts and space enthusiasts in grades 8-12 will have a unique opportunity to dive into the world of space exploration.

 

EMU Coding for Neurodivergent Learners: July 20 – 22, 2026

6th – 12th Graders

A sensory-friendly coding experience designed to meet learners where they are. Campers choose their own learning path using Blocks and/or Python and explore physical computing with LEGO BrickQ. Campers should have basic typing skills; however, no prior coding experience is required. The program emphasizes technical confidence in a low-stimulation, high-support environment. Sensory tools are welcome, and frequent breaks are built into the schedule. Camp will culminate in a personalized “Grand Build” showcase. More information and registration: https://myumi.ch/4mgQQ

Build the Moon Challenge: The Competition for Future Space Engineers

Applications now open. Space Grant funding applications close on August 16th. 

MSGC is proud to support teams in Michigan!

Help NASA prepare for long-term missions in space! The Build the Moon Challenge invites middle and high school students to design and test innovative solutions for building structures using lunar resources. This hands-on STEM competition connects young engineers to real aerospace research and engineering practices. 

 

Note: To provide a full year of NASA Artemis-connected programming for the 2026-2027 school year, the Build the Moon Challenge will be offered during the Fall semester, and the Plant the Moon Challenge will be offered during Spring.

Hack Club: Stardance Challenge

Challenge Dates: June 1 – Sept. 30

Contact: stardance@hackclub.com

NASA and Hack Club invite students ages 13 to 18 to flex their creativity this summer with the Stardance Challenge. Participants can create anything from code and apps to electronics, circuit boards, models, and simulations. Hack Club will offer peer and expert reviews, prizes, and opportunities to show off your work. NASA will provide access to publicly available datasets, mission materials, multimedia, and virtual sessions with subject matter experts who will share space science, engineering, and career insights. Ready to start brainstorming? Visit the Hack Club: Stardance Challenge website to explore project options, check out prizes, and RSVP to get a reminder when the challenge opens.

Journey Through the Heliosphere: The Sun-Earth System in Color

Spark curiosity and creativity with the new “Journey Through the Heliosphere” coloring book. Designed for adults and students in grades 6-12, the downloadable resource includes science facts and coloring pages for ten themes, including the Sun’s magnetic field, solar wind, aurora, eclipses, and how the Sun influences Earth. The book also features a glossary of scientific terms relating to heliophysics and includes a reference chart of solar terms in seven of Alaska’s many Indigenous languages. Click here to download, learn more about the Sun, and start coloring.

AI Learning Resources

Artificial intelligence is all around us – helping as a virtual assistant for daily life, working as a tool for scientists, and shaping the careers of tomorrow.  But what is AI? The NASA Knows: What Is AI? article for students answers this question and more. Find out how NASA is using artificial intelligence and learn about careers that use this innovative tool.

Also check out AI at NASA: Unlocking the Future of Exploration, a video featuring NASA AI expert Martin Garcia. Watch as he answers students’ questions and explains how the agency is using AI as a powerful tool to progress humanity’s exploration and understanding of the cosmos.

Then, visit The Future of Discovery website to explore how AI is helping astronomers quickly classify objects, detect unusual patterns, and make new discoveries hidden in the vast datasets collected by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Citizen Science: Become a Shock Detective

Earth is constantly immersed in a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun: the solar wind. As this fast-moving solar wind encounters Earth’s magnetic field, it creates a massive shock wave in space – stretching hundreds of thousands of miles beyond our planet.

Volunteers are needed to help scientists examine NASA data about this “bow shock” as part of a new research project: Shock Detectives. You can help by identifying patterns in data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. What we learn here may help us better understand how other stars affect their orbiting planets.

Click here to get started.

Help Scientists Improve Hail Predictions With CoCoRaHS and SEaRCH

The bigger the hailstone, the more damage it can cause. But predicting hailstone size can be challenging. How quickly does hail melt as it falls?

You can help tackle this question by joining the SouthEast Region CoCoRaHS Hail (SEaRCH) project. This network of backyard weather observers includes volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who work together to measure and report hail in their local communities. SEaRCH is also part of the NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Science Foundation supported Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow (CoCoRaHS) network, whose amateur weather sleuths report rain and snow.

Click here to learn more and get started.

Smithsonian Activity: Compare the Weather on Mars and Earth

https://myumi.ch/E8j73

Did you know you can check the temperature on Mars? Track the temperature on Mars and compare it to Earth in this activity from the National Air and Space Museum.

Joint Polar Satellite System STEM Activity: Flight Path Navigator Graphing Game
https://myumi.ch/2r65m
Did you know that data from NOAA and NASA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) satellites helps pilots plan their flight paths? In a new game from the JPSS team, players use graphing to plot a safe flight path, including take-off and landing, for an airplane. The beginning concepts of graphing are explored as young learners plan routes to avoid clouds, ice, turbulence, and other obstacles.

Explore the Universe With NuSTAR Art and Coloring Pages
https://myumi.ch/G29z4
NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, mission detects high-energy X-rays. With NuSTAR, scientists observe and investigate some of the hottest, densest, and most energetic objects in the universe, like the remnants of exploded stars and supermassive black holes actively consuming gas and dust.

NASA Summer STEM Activities for Students & Educators 

NASA has released a new collection of summer STEM opportunities for students and educators, featuring hands‑on challenges, career‑focused virtual events, and ways to explore NASA missions from home. Highlights include the Stardance Challenge for Teens, behind‑the‑scenes NASA career sessions, and citizen science activities that invite learners to dive into real mission data. Explore the full list of activities here.

National Science Foundation Education and Training Opportunities
Various Deadlines
https://myumi.ch/y1bkd
Browse NSF Opportunities to discover what could be the next step in your academic journey. Search by keyword or use the filters to find Opportunities relevant to your interests. Start your application when you find a good fit or save it to come back to when you’re ready.

 

Open Science Training
https://myumi.ch/kPdqy
NASA’s Open Science 101 course provides the foundational knowledge of the principles and best practices for conducting open science. Researchers, students, and the public are invited to register for this free, five-module course to learn about the principles of open science; how to plan, conduct, and participate in open science research projects; legal and ethical considerations when planning open science projects; and open science best practices.