settlement.arc.nasa.gov : NASA Ames Space Contest 2018

Organization : NASA Ames Research Center, San Jose State University, and the National Space Society (NSS)
Competition Name : NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2018
Applicable For : All students up to 12th grade (18 years old) from anywhere in the world.
Competition Last Date : 15 February 2018 .
Website : https://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/Contest/

NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest :

News :
Watch this space for contest news. Note the following :
** Starting in 2018, entries are due on 15 February.
** The final 2017 results are available here.

Update : NSS NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2019 : www.contest.net.in/38820.html

** All all of the certificates have been sent. Depending on security and the post office we expect all certificates to arrive by mid-August.
** We will no longer replace 2016 certificates that are missing or have problems.
** The address to send 2018 projects to has changed. See below.

** Distribution of certificates will change next year. See below.
** Next year we may change other some aspects of the contest. In particular, the Bruce M. Clark award. Watch this web page.

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.

Contest Last Date, prizes and certificates :
** All submissions must be received by February 15.

** A NASA certificate will be sent to all winners. By default we send paper certificates to the address on the entry form. 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 to request a pdf.

** Participant certificates will be distributed in pdf from this web page on the honor system.
** 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 AT 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 .nss.org/events/contest_invitation_form.shtml ONLY if that does not work, requests for letters of invitation can be sent to isdc.students AT 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).

Rules :
** Submissions must relate to orbital settlements. Settlements may not be on a planet or moon. Settlements must be permanent homes, not temporary work camps. Submissions may focus on one or a few aspects of space settlement and supporting systems, including mines, activities leading up to settlement (such as space hotels), economic and social issues, etc.

** Designs, original research, essays, stories, models, artwork or any other orbital space settlement related materials may be submitted.

** Submissions must be made in hard copy. No electronic submissions are accepted under any circumstances. This includes Power Point presentations, discs, CD’s, DVD, videos or anything but paper. NASA does not return contestant submissions.

** However, you may create an electronic project, such as a video or web site, and send us a hard copy description of the project. The description should include images and text to describe the project in sufficient detail for judgement.

** If your electronic project is web accessible, you may include the URL. It will not be used for judging, but NASA may, at its discretion, link to your project from the contest results page.

** Two copies of the entry form with the appropriate information must be included with the submission; one firmly attached to the submission and one loosely attached (for example, with a paper clip). Be sure to fill out all fields. Please type if at all possible. Use a separate sheet if necessary.

** The submission must be the student’s own work. Plagiarism is forbidden. No part of an entry may copied with one exception: You may quote short passages, but only if the material is surrounded in double quotes (“) and the source indicated. For example: “This material copied from somewhere,” My Favorite Space Book.

Quoted materials should rarely be more than a few lines, and never longer than a few paragraphs. Quoting long passages is forbidden. Entries caught plagiarizing, even one part of a large entry, will be disqualified and disposed of.

** Instructors, mentors or parents may assist the student by presenting relevant resources, discussing core concepts and suggesting minor edits, but the work itself must be entirely student produced.

** Always include a bibliography.
** Submissions are not returned. Keep a copy for yourself.
** All decisions by the judges are final.

Submission :
Send a hard copy of your entry and two hard copies of a filled out entry form (one firmly attached to your entry and the other loosely attached, perhaps with a paper clip) to :
NASA Ames Research Center
Al Globus/Mail Stop 262-4 or
Lauren Claudatos/Mail Stop 262-4
Bldg. 262, Rm. 269
Moffett Field, CA 94035-0001
USA

Note :
** Entries must arrive by February 15.
** If your courier service needs a street address, use ‘Allen Rd’.
** we do not send verification that entries have been received. Please don’t ask for one.
** If you want to know if the entry has arrived, use a service that requires a signature.
** Teachers using the contest in their class should submit all projects together.
** Electronic submission is not allowed, only hard copy.