Students and educators are heading back to school and NASA STEM is here to help bring the science of the agency’s missions and the spirit of exploration into classrooms and homes. NASA offers several resources for educators and students and has new opportunities to join in this 2023-2024 school year.
Follow NASA STEM on X and Facebook social media channels using the hashtags #BacktoSchool and #NASASTEM for additional content and updates.
Rock Out with Asteroids
Three NASA missions focused on asteroids will pass major milestones this fall. On Sunday, Sept. 24, the OSIRIS-Rex spacecraft will return to Earth carrying rocks and dust collected from the asteroid Bennu. On Oct. 5, NASA will launch its Psyche mission to explore the nickel-iron core of an early planet currently orbiting the Sun as an asteroid. On Nov. 1, the Lucy spacecraft will have its first significant asteroid encounter.
Check out Lucy mission resources and activities and learn how to tell the difference between asteroids, comets, meteors, and more with What’s That Space Rock?
Get Ready for Upcoming Eclipses
Large segments of the United States, Central America, and Canada will experience a pair of solar eclipses this school year: an annular solar eclipse on Saturday, Oct. 14 and a total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Students can learn how solar eclipses happen with the Model a Solar Eclipse activity, and find out more about the different types of solar and lunar eclipses with NASA’s overview of eclipses and transits.
Plant Seeds of Excitement for Artemis
Next year, a four-person crew will fly around the Moon on the Artemis II mission, the next in a series of flights that will establish a long-term human presence at the Moon. Check out NASA’s Next Gen STEM’s new Lunar Surface Activity Guide and visit the Join Artemis website to find a variety of teaching tools and fun family activities focusing on this next chapter in human spaceflight.
Did you know nearly 2,000 tree seeds travelled around the Moon and back to Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission in 2022? In partnership with the USDA Forest Service, NASA invites education and community organizations to attend an information session to learn how to apply to receive an Artemis Moon Tree Seedling through NASA’s Artifacts Module Program. This application opportunity will be available within the next few weeks – stay tuned for the announcement.
Rise to the Challenge
Student challenges provide an opportunity to assemble a team, test one’s skills, and even contribute to NASA missions.
- The agency offers a variety of Artemis Student Challenges every year; some are for college-level students, but others are available to high school and even middle school teams. Monitor the Join Artemis webpage for updates coming soon for 2023-2024.
- Students attending minority-serving institutions can assemble multidisciplinary teams to find innovative ways to bring a NASA intellectual property to the commercial marketplace. The Minority University Research and Education Project Innovation Tech Transfer Idea Competition, or MITTIC, holds competitions in fall and spring. The fall application window is open now – apply before the Oct. 16 deadline.
- Middle school and high school students can develop and fly their experiments on high-altitude balloons through the NASA TechRise Student Challenge, and the Gateways to Blue Skies competition provides an opportunity for multidisciplinary teams of collegiate-level students to tackle significant challenges and opportunities for the aviation industry.
- College students can become partners in NASA’s advancement of human landing systems through the Human Lander Challenge or help the agency improve its operational capabilities on the Moon, Mars, and beyond through the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) competition.
Launch Learning in the K-12 Classroom
Below are resources for educators looking for ways to incorporate NASA STEM into their classrooms.
- Through NASA SPARX, educators can access activities, training, and resources, while students can gain engineering experience and meet NASA subject matter experts.
- In-flight education downlinks enable student groups, classrooms, or schools to have their pre-recorded questions answered by astronauts aboard the International Space Station during live, 20-minute Q&A sessions. Education downlinks are available to U.S.-based education organizations. NASA will begin accepting proposals for International Space Station Expedition 71 in fall 2023; visit Apply for a Downlink to learn more.
- Where can you find NASA STEM content, special events, and connections with fellow educators and NASA experts? Through NASA’s community of practice for educators. Join the community today to find content, upcoming opportunities, and new connections.
- Sign up to have the NASA EXPRESS newsletter deliver the latest events and opportunities directly to your inbox every Thursday.
Keep Your Eyes on the Skies
Interested in aeronautics? Students can learn about aviation and air traffic control through the interactive math program Smart Skies, and classrooms and members of the public can fly their names on upcoming aeronautics flights and access STEM activities through Flight Log.
Become a Citizen Scientist
Students, educators, and the public can help NASA understand how the Moon has changed over time, discover the Sun’s “cool neighbors,” and more. If you’re up for contributing to real NASA science, visit the Citizen Science website to find opportunities that fit your interests.
Pursue a NASA Internship
Through NASA internships, students in high school and higher education can participate in NASA’s missions with the guidance of an agency mentor. The application deadline for Spring 2024 is on Thursday, Aug. 31, while the deadlines for Spring 2024 and Summer 2024 are Oct. 20, 2023, and Jan. 17, 2024, respectively.
Visit NASA Internships Programs to learn more and find current opportunities, and check out the NASA Interns blog to find out what this experience is all about.
K-12 educators are invited to explore more STEM resources at: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-educators/
For the latest NASA STEM events, activities, and news, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/latest-stem-news-and-features/