NASA opens Power Systems essay contest for K12 students

NASA opens Power Systems essay contest for K12 students
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 08, 2024

NASA has launched the fourth annual Power to Explore Student Challenge, inviting U.S. students from kindergarten through 12th grade to submit essays envisioning new nuclear-powered missions to any moon in our solar system. Kicking off on November 7, 2024, the challenge encourages young minds to dive into the science of radioisotope power systems (RPS) - a type of nuclear battery that has powered some of NASA's most ambitious space explorations.

The contest calls on students to imagine a unique nuclear-powered mission to a chosen moon destination, with entries due by January 31, 2025.

Radioisotope power systems enable NASA missions to endure the hostile, cold, and shadowed regions of space that traditional solar power cannot reach, such as the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn or the perpetually dark craters of our own Moon. These systems have sustained NASA's spacecraft as they journey through the solar system's most extreme and remote environments.

"Sending spacecraft into space is hard, and it's even harder sending them to the extreme environments surrounding the diverse moons in our solar system," said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "NASA's Power to Explore Student Challenge provides the incredible opportunity for our next generation - our future explorers - to design their own daring missions using science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to explore space and discover new science for the benefit of all, while also revealing incredible creative power within themselves. We cannot wait to see what the students dream up!"

For the contest, students should outline the mission's destination, objectives, and how RPS would make the mission feasible on a dark, dusty, or distant moon. Essays are capped at 275 words and should also describe one of the student's unique qualities or "powers" that would contribute to the mission's success.

Submissions will be judged in three age categories: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. One grand prize winner in each category will receive a trip for two to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where they will meet experts working with the technologies that power NASA's missions. Additionally, all participants will receive a digital certificate and an invitation to a virtual event featuring NASA experts, providing insights into what fuels the agency's drive for exploration and innovation.

NASA and its partner Future Engineers are also looking for volunteer judges to evaluate the anticipated flood of entries. U.S. residents aged 18 or older are encouraged to volunteer about three hours to review submissions by registering on the Future Engineers website.

This annual contest is supported by NASA's Science Mission Directorate's Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office, with Future Engineers managing the event under the NASA Tournament Lab in the Space Technology Mission Directorate's Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program.