NSS NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2019 : National Space Society

Organisation : National Space Society NSS
Contest Name : NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest 2019
Applicable For : All students at up to 12th grade from anywhere in the world
Entries Last Date : February 15
Website : https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/Contest/

NSS NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest

NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest has been sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center from 1994-2018, for the last several years in conjunction with the National Space Society (NSS).

Related / Similar Contest : NASA Space Settlement Contest 2021

A Space Act Agreement between NASA and NSS is currently being worked on to continue joint sponsorship of the contest. Meanwhile, the 2019 contest is being sponsored by NSS.

Contest Eligibility

** This annual contest is for all students at up to 12th grade from anywhere in the world.
** Individuals, small teams of two to five, and large teams of six to twelve are judged separately.
** No more than 12 students on a project. (This year only: if you have already started with more than 12 students and win, reply to the winner notification email to get a certificate with all the student’s names.)
** Entries are also grouped by age/grade of the oldest contestant for judging. The age groups are 7th and younger, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th

Update : We expect to start accepting 2020 submissions in early January 2020.

Contest Categories

Contest categories are,

** 7th grade and younger: 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.

How To Enter?

** The 2019 contest will be conducted digitally. No more paper entries.
** Register, enter your project data, and submit your entry.
** Once you submit, you can resubmit at any time before the contest Last Date.
** There will be a $10 submission fee for each entry.
** Scholarships should be available when this is a hardship.

Entry Form : spacesettlement.awardsplatform.com/

Contest Rules

** Submissions must relate to free space settlements. Settlements may not be on a planet or moon, although support activities such as mining may be.
** 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, economic and social issues, etc.
** Designs, original research, essays, stories, models, artwork or any other orbital space settlement related materials may be submitted.
** Submissions should not be longer than 50 pages unless it is essential to explain the work.
** The project must consist of 1-10 pdf or jpg files (usually just one). Each may be no larger than 24 MB.
** Submissions will be made electronically.
** 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.
** All decisions by the judges are final.

ISDC Conference

The National Space Society (NSS) invites all 2019 contest participants to attend the NSS 38th annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in Arlington, VA June 6-9. Every year, hundreds of contestants attend, along with their parents, teachers, siblings and friends.

Special activities for contestants are planned, including:
** 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.
** The highest ranking attending entry will receive the Herman Rubin Award of $5,000 and give a plenary talk at one of the conference’s signature events.

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.

How To Attend ISDC?
** If you are planning to attend ISDC 2019, please see the ISDC Space Settlement Students Web Site. Note: only the 2018 page is available right now. We will update when the 2019 page becomes available.

** 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://space.nss.org/ 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 Prizes

** A PDF certificate will be sent to all winners.
** 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 contest World Wide Web site.

Contest Last Date

All submissions must be received by February 15.