Cubes in Space Registration Now Open – Deadline Feb 17, 2025
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and iEDU Inc. invite educators to register for the free Cubes in Space program. Participants receive a course of activities that guide students to design experiments or technologies that connect to a real-world Earth or space-based problem or need. Selected experiments will be launched via a sounding rocket from Wallops Flight…
NAR Educational Resources
The National Rocketry Association has numerous educational resources available. However, many are located beneath a pull-down menu. I hope you can find them from this link: https://www.nar.org/educational-resources/
Registration now open for Cubes In Space
Cubes in Space™ (CIS) teaches students (ages 11-17) about the atmosphere, rocketry, high-altitude balloons, general laws of physics, radio communications, satellites, and space science. Students work in teams to design and propose experiments that might be accepted to launch into a near space environment on a NASA sounding rocket or zero-pressure scientific balloon in June…
Southwest 4FSK Balloon Tracking Network
A group of amateur radio operators operate a network in the Southwest of high-altitude balloon tracking stations. NOAA weather balloons are posted to sondehub.org. Stations are switched to 4FSK mode when tracking amateur balloons. Those are posted to https://amateur.sondehub.org/ Below is a screenshot of all 10 stations tracking a recent launch from Mount Carmel High…
InSimEd’s Space Design Competition
InSimEd (Industry Simulation Education) Space Design Competitions are focused on aerospace engineering and space settlement. They provide high school aged students in the Americas the unique opportunity to assume the roles you would find in an aerospace company, be mentored by industry professionals, and work on space settlement and infrastructure design briefs for space colonies…
Listing of NASA Challenges, Prizes, and Crowdsourcing Opportunities
Nasa routinely offers challenges (some with prizes) at all grade levels. And many are open to the public without an educational affiliation. Links to all current challenges can be found on their website: https://www.nasa.gov/prizes-challenges-and-crowdsourcing/
NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System
The Europa Clipper was launched on Oct 14, 2024 and 2 days later it’s already 1.5 million km from Earth on its 5 year voyage to Jupiter. You can track its path, along with the paths and orbits of 162 spacecraft, on NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System. Included is USA’s first satellite, Explorer 1,…
Getting Involved with NASA
NASA’s “Get Involved” page is an amazing clearinghouse for NASA challenge competitions, student opportunities, research opportunities, teacher resources and virtual events. Definitely worth bookmarking and viewing monthly. From the introduction: We invite members of the public to contribute their time and expertise to advancing research, solving problems, and potentially winning prizes as a result of…
Registration for the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge is open
Join the largest annual global hackathon on October 5-6. Begin your journey by signing up for a Local Event, choosing a challenge, and joining a team! Visit https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/nasa-space-apps-2024/ for details.
Real-Time Lightning Maps
Blitzortung.org is a worldwide citizen science network of lightning detectors. A map displaying lightning strikes in real-time can be found at https://www.blitzortung.org/en/live_lightning_maps.php Unlike other lightning maps, this map also shows which detectors reported the strike. Surprisingly, strikes can be detected from halfway around the world. Information about the technology and how you can participate can…
Superknova – Free Online Resource for Learning the Fundamentals of Radio Communications
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO), and its administrator, Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI), have created Superknova, an online educational platform that provides inclusive, equitable access to radio technology learning and training. “Our goal is to broaden participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) by offering no-cost training and education…
NASA Adventures in Rocket Science Educator Guide
This 178 page guide contains 25 activities designed for 4-H Clubs, Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, after-school programs, and other informal education venues (K-12). Participants learn about the history and principles of rocketry and NASA’s newest rockets. While doing these hands-on activities, participants also learn about Hero Engines, parachutes and surface area,…
Applications for NASA L’SPACE Fall 2024 On-line Program Due September 1
The NASA L’SPACE Program offered by Arizona State University is a free, online, interactive experience open to undergraduate STEM students interested in pursuing a career with NASA or other space organizations. L’SPACE consists of two Academies – the Mission Concept Academy, and the NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience Academy. Students may participate in one…
Firefly Aerospace Educational Launch Program – DREAM
During last night’s NSF (nasaspaceflight.com) webcast of Firefly’s successfully launch of FLTA005 and deployment of NASA’s Educational Launch of 8 nanosats, I learned of an independent Firefly program to launch educational satellites on their ride-alone missions. The program is named DREAM for Dedicated Reseach Education Acceleration Mission. Details, along with an application for future missions…
Participate in Experiments at the International Space Station via Orion’s Quest
Orion’s Quest is a free, online, standards-aligned education platform that allows for experiential learning through live or virtual “missions.” Activities allow students to analyze real data from the ISS and submit their findings to scientists, engaging the students in real-world empirical inquiry and knowledge-making. Many of the experiments are biological in nature: plants, microbes, fruit…
Applications for NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars now accepted until June 10, 2024
NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) supports community college students seeking to transfer to a four-year institution or go directly to the labor force by engaging them in authentic learning experiences. Applications for Mission 1: Discover are open now. Participants will take part in a five-week, self-paced online course introducing scholars to NASA missions and…
ISS Mimic Project on Github
The ISS Mimic Project on Github https://github.com/ISS-Mimic/Mimic/wiki uses the actual live data from the International Space Station to control a 3D-printed model that moves the solar arrays and radiators to track the real ISS in real time. It’s a complex model that’s perfect as a MakerSpace project as it combines 3D printing and assembly with…
ICS’s Roundup of Robotics Competitions
Robotics competitions are a common and popular STEM activity. The Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) has compiled a comprehensive list of them on the ICS Robotics Roundup page. “The Robotics Roundup is where you can find information about exciting opportunities and recent happenings across the world of robotics competitions. Track your favorite competitions, explore upcoming…
Magnitude.IO Space Hackathon 2024
Magnitude.IO is perhaps my favorite (and aspirational) STEM aerospace organization. Not only do they launch CanSats on high-powered rockets and high-altitude balloons, but they also fly experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) every year. Their latest mission is scheduled for September 2024. This year, they are sponsoring an Earth-based hackathon in which anyone can…
Space Exploration Educator Conference 2024
The conference was held February 8-10, 2024 at the Houston Space Center. Videos of the 101 sessions are available here: https://sites.grenadine.co/sites/spacecenter/en/seec2024/schedule Downloads of each session’s materials are available after clicking on the session’s link.
National Association of Rocketry offers its college members $2000 & $3000 Scholarships
NAR members between the ages of 17 and 22 attending college or vocational school may be eligible to receive a $2000 scholarship. Young women majoring in STEM fields are eligible for a $3000 scholarship sponsored by the Estes family. And teachers who uses model rocketry in the classroom may apply for a $500 Robert L.…
Student Ages 11-18 Suborbital Flight Opportunity – Cubes in Space
Educators of students ages 11-18 (formal, informal and home-school) are invited to register for the free Cubes-in-Space program. Participants receive a course of activities that guide students to design experiments or technologies that connect to a real-world Earth or space-based problem or need. Selected experiments will be launched via a sounding rocket from Wallops Flight…
How to Build A Low Voltage Power Solar System
I have often wondered why so little attention is given to low voltage (12-24-48 volt) power solar systems. All the modern conveniences you need (lighting, appliances, heat, entertainment, computers, etc.) are readily available from RV, off-road, camping and marine suppliers. Thanks to hackaday, I found an article with detailed instructions on building such a system: https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2023/12/how-to-build-a-small-solar-power-system/ The…
The Space Industry Has a Labor Problem that YOU Can Solve
A recent article from AXIOS Space highlights the need for a trained, robust workforce that the industry is currently struggling to attract. These are high paying jobs, not all of which require a 4-year degree. And Southern California is a major center for the industry. Become inspired and read more at: https://www.axios.com/2023/09/12/space-industry-workforce-crisis
NASA TechRise Student Challenge (Grades 6-12) Proposals Due Oct 20, 2023
NASA announced the third installment of its TechRise Student Challenge. Teams of students from grades 6-12 have the opportunity to submit experiments to fly on Astrobotic’s Xodiac VTOL lunar lander testbed or a high-altitude weather balloon. The award comes with $1,500 to build the experiment. Submissions are due by October 20th. (Thanks to the Orbital…
Send Your Name to Jupiter’s Europa Moon
NASA’s Message in a Bottle campaign invites people around the world to sign their names to a poem written by the U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. The poem is engraved on NASA’s robotic Europa Clipper spacecraft, along with participants’ names that will be etched onto microchips mounted on the spacecraft. Together, the poem and names…
Aerospace Corporation offering $500 grants for space STEM lesson plans – Due 9/19/2023
Aerospace Corporation is rewarding teachers who create lesson plans that inspire students to learn more about space STEM. They are awarding teachers small classroom grants for up to $500 each for their lesson plans. Details as well as lesson plans of previous awardees can be found at: https://aerospace.org/teacher-grants Also check out the teacher resources at:…
2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge – Oct 7-8
Registration for the 2023 NASA International Space Apps Challenge is now open. Coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, space enthusiasts, innovators, students, and teachers worldwide are invited to engage with free and open data from NASA and 13 partner space agencies to address real-world problems. Learn more and register at: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/
CubeSat – Happy 20th Birthday
Science Friday published an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the first CubeSat launch on June 30, 2003. It’s a worthwhile article on the co-inventor, Jordi Puig-Suari, a brief tour of the CalPoly labs, and Darren Yui’s Spacecraft Engineering class at Grace Brethren High School in Simi Valley, CA. From the final photo, I appears…
Orbital Space Challenge to Place Experiments on the Moon – Proposals Due 27 Mar 2023
Orbital Space is inviting innovators from all over the world to submit ideas for experiments or tests that could be conducted on the Moon. The purpose of this competition is to encourage and empower individuals or teams to develop, design and conduct scientific experiments or technology tests to be carried to the surface of the…
Registration for Spring 2023 Aerospace Robotics Competition Open (Until Feb 1, 2023)
The Aerospace Robotics Competition is a high school drone competition. Teams are asked to carry out a variety of design tasks from designing autonomously released mechanisms to developing flight plans and executing them on the drone. The Fall competition required the drones’ use of machine vision to identify and pop in proper sequence color balloons…
NASA HAB College Student Opportunity: Deadline Dec 2, 2022
Student teams from community colleges and universities are invited to develop experiments to fly to the edge of space on a NASA high-altitude research balloon. The annual project, supported by the NASA Balloon Program Office and the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium, provides near-space access for 12 student experiments. Q&A Teleconference on Nov 14, 2022Letter of…
NASA Student Launch Proposals Due Sept 19, 2022
Each year, NASA sponsors a year long, student launch challenge for colleges and middle / high school students. Students need to design, build and fly a high powered rocket that reaches an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet. (This would be considered a Level 1 HPR using Tripoli or NAR classifications – well within the…
NASA TechRise Student Challenge Proposals Due Oct 24, 2022
Want to design and build an experiment to fly on a NASA High Altitude Balloon? This years challenge is open to sixth through 12th graders. Sixty winning teams will each be awarded $1500 to build their experiment during the Spring semester and fly it next Summer. Full details can be found at: https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise
Application Window for NASA DEVELOP Program Opens Today (Aug 29) through Oct 7, 2022
DEVELOP conducts feasibility studies that bridge the gap between Earth science information and society. These projects help both participants and partners learn more about using geospatial information. Projects address priorities and concerns in nine thematic areas: Agriculture, Climate, Disasters, Ecological Forecasting, Energy, Health & Air Quality, Urban Development, Water Resources, and Wildfires. Three times a…
Check out the GLOBE Program
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to meaningfully contribute to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. As an international science and education program, GLOBE is dedicated to supplying the STEM professionals of tomorrow with the scientific knowledge necessary…
Three Weekly Space / CubeSat / STEM Newsletters Worth Your Subscription
NASA STEM Express https://www.nasa.gov/stem NASA STEM express is the best way to keep up-to-date with the numerous STEM resources offered by NASA as well as challenges and funding opportunities through NASA and related organizations. Subscribe here: https://www.nasa.gov/stem/express The Orbital Index http://orbitalindex.com/ Orbital Index is a great way to keep track of upcoming and recent cubesat…
Space and CubeSat Lesson Plans from The Aerospace Corporation
The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit, federally funded research and development center committed exclusively to space enterprise, has developed resources for teaching space in the classroom including slide packages, video, student worksheets and lesson plans on a variety of topics. To view and download, visit: https://aerospace.org/stem/teacher-resources Of special interest, is their CubeSat Mission Brief. In this…
Educational Passages — Build and Launch Your Own Ocean-going Probe
Educational Passages sells a 5-foot mini-sailboat kit loaded with sensors and a satellite transmitter. After building and launching the boat, students can track its progress (as well as that of other boats) on the organization’s webpage. Should your school not be near a coastal location, they will connect you with others who will launch your…
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) & National Weather Services (NWS) Educational Portals
NOAA, like NASA, offers a wealth of resources for STEM teachers. Their portal can be found at: https://www.noaa.gov/education Information on their weather satellites can be found at: https://www.noaa.gov/satellites The National Weather Service is part of NOAA, but maintains a separate educational portal at: https://www.weather.gov/education/ Information on their weather balloons can be found at multiple URLs,…
Registration Now Open for 2022 International Space Apps Challenge
The International Space Apps Challenge 2022 runs October 1-2, with registration open now. https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/ Join NASA and 11 other space agencies in a truly international hackathon “for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage with NASA’s free and open data to address real-world problems on…
ARRL’s Intro to Radio / Learn to Solder Kit
The best way to learn to solder is to use a learn-to-solder project, typically a simple circuit board with 5 to 10 components, well spaced out. Many are blinking light badges. You can find them on Amazon. I’m partial to those offered by SparkFun. The ARRL has a learn-to-solder kit that is actually useful: a…
Learn How NASA Creates Those Amazing Deep Space Images
Interested in learning how NASA creates false-color deep space images from the Hubble and Webb telescopes? Now you can create your own images using their image datasets and software. You can even control one of their Earth-based telescopes! Visit the Astrophoto Challenges for details: https://mo-www.cfa.harvard.edu/OWN/astrophoto/index.html
Presenting at Satellite Educators Association Conference July 29
The Satellite Educators Association (sated.org) are STEM teachers who use real-world satellite data in their classrooms. I’ll be presenting “Classroom Activities with the AMSAT Functional CubeSat Simulator” on July 29 at their 35th annual conference in LA and on Zoom. Registration ends July 22.
Inexpensive Radio Astronomy Kit Now Available
Inexpensive radio astronomy kits are now available from NASA’s Radio JOVE Project
NV STEAM 2022 Videos Available
Videos of the Zoom sessions of the 2022 NV STEAM conference are now available. The annual conference is for Nevada STEM / STEAM K-12 teachers, but is relevant for all educators. This year’s focus was on Design Based Learning.
NASA TechRise Winners Announced
The NASA TechRise program challenged middle and high school students to design and build experiments for either a high altitude balloon or a suborbital rocket. Today the 57 winning teams were announced here: https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise Note sometime in the future, clicking on the student’s project name will display a page displaying information regarding the project. So…
Reminder: Cubes in Space Proposals Due Feb 4, 2022
Cubes in Space is the only global STEM program for students 11-18 years of ageproviding suborbital and high altitude balloon flight opportunities on NASA missions. Homeschooled students, after-school, and out-of-school clubs are eligible. Students propose and create experiments that must fit into a 4cm cube. Free courseware to support the program is available.
JPL University Crowdsourcing Initiative
The JPL University Crowdsourcing Initiative (JUCI) offers access to relevant JPL challenges to which universities can propose to participate in as part of their student’s educational experience. Students volunteer their services to solve the challenges. JPL JUCI students support real-world space science challenges with JPL as coach. Details here: https://scienceandtechnology.jpl.nasa.gov/opportunities/academic-partnerships/juci
Spaceport Academy – Free Online Learning for Space Exploration and Technologies
Spaceport.academy is a free online learning website focusing on space exploration and space technologies. Clicking the Mind Map link reveals how the lessons are organized by track: Space Science, Biology in Space, Space Applications, Robotics, and Engineering. The Engineering track contains numerous lessons relevant to cubesats. When you register, please consider joining the QMR-KWT Space…
2021 Open Source CubeSat Workshop End of this Week – Dec 9 & 10
Libre Space Foundation, creators of the SatNOGS network of satellite tracking stations, is conducting their fifth workshop this week. It’s online and free. Details at: https://events.libre.space/event/5/overview
Reminder: Only 5 days left to submit proposal for NASA Techrise Student Challenge
Sixth to 12th-grade schools are invited to develop an experiment for a NASA flight on either a suborbital rocket or a high-altitude balloon. Proposals are due 3 Nov 2021. Visit https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise for proposal details as well as instructional materials.
AMSAT Virtual Space Symposium this Saturday Oct 30, 2021
AMSAT’s annual symposium will again be held virtual this year. Members can register on the AMSAT website’s member portal. Non-members can watch the presentation on their YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/RTvcceM7Tz0 Tentative Schedule 9:00am CDT – Opening Remarks 9:15am CDT – 2:00 pm CDT – General Presentations 2:00pm CDT – 3:00 pm CDT – AMSAT Education /…
Registration open for Caltech Space Challenge 2022 for undergrad and grad students
The Caltech Space Challenge brings 32 talented and highly-motivated students to the Caltech campus to participate in a week-long space mission design competition (March 21-25, 2022). The participants are split into two teams and both teams work under the mentorship of experts from industry, NASA and academia to design their mission concept from scratch to…
Grants available from the ARDC foundation
Amateur Radio Digital Communications is a private foundation with significant ability and desire to support Amateur Radio and digital communication science and technology. They are expected to award more than $6-million in 2021 grants to schools and 501(c)(3) organizations such as radio clubs. Grants have been made for things like educational programs, repeater equipment upgrades,…
For our European students: Only one month left to submit your Mission Space Lab experiment.
Mission Space Lab is part of the European Astro Pi Challenge, an ESA Education project run in collaboration with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which gives students and young people the amazing opportunity to conduct their own scientific experiments on the International Space Station. Teams of 2-6 young people, aged 19 and under, design and program…
Reminder: NASA Space Apps Challenge this weekend – Oct 2-3, 2021
The NASA International Space Apps Challenge (Space Apps) is an international hackathon for coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and others in cities around the world, where teams engage the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. Go to https://www.spaceappschallenge.org for details.
NASA Space Apps Challenge – Oct 2-3
10th annual NASA Space Apps Challenge Registration is open for the 10th annual NASA Space Apps Challenge. “NASA is inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to come together in a global, virtualhackathon the weekend of October 2-3, 2021. During a period of 48 hours, participants from around the world will…
Write Your Code Like NASA Does
Make Magazine recently published a video by Allyson Aberg highlighting 3 guidelines from JPL’s “Rules for Developing Safety Critical Code”. Worthwhile to watch the video for it contains more information than the written text. The guidelines can be found at: http://pixelscommander.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/P10.pdf Pixelscommander has applied these guidelines to JavaScript in this post. A more detailed document…
Update on CTE Mission: Cubesat Finalists
The five finalists are in the final two weeks of preparation and testing before taking flight on high altitude balloons or drones stating April 23. Learn more about their missions and read their blog entries at: https://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/finalists/
ScienceHeads.org HAB6 Balloon Flight
On Saturday, February 20, 2021, ScienceHeads (a STEM education group out of Lake Forest, CA, US) launched and successfully recovered their sixth high altitude balloon (HAB). It carried a flight recorder that I built, as well as several radios for tracking and seeds for student experiments. I was member of the recovery team chasing the…
Finalists in CTE: CubeSat Challenge Announced Today
“What impressed us most about the mission proposals was students’ enthusiasm to take on complex and ambitious projects — many of which focused on issues similar to what our national space missions are currently tackling.”— Scott Stump, Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education Scott Stump’s quote says it…
An Exciting Virtual Balloon Launch by ScienceHeads.org
While checking the status of my Palm Desert balloon tracking station on aprs.fi, I noticed the balloon KM6HCB-11 was traveling overhead. With the help of Google, I discovered it was launched by Science Heads, a Southern California STEM organization for middle and high school students. And I could participate remotely from La Jolla. Because of…
Arduino EDUvision on YouTube
This is embarrassing, but I just learned that arduino.cc (the mothersite) has a STEAM channel on YouTube. Season 2 focus was on the Internet of Things (IOT). Check it out at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT6rF_I5kknPWSLv9uU3Kc0v9-1q4IymY
94 CTE Mission CubeSat proposals received
When submissions closed on October 16, CTE Mission: CubeSat had received 94 mission proposals from schools across the United States. The teams proposed a range of thought-provoking CubeSat projects, such as tracking changes to Earth’s magnetic field, assessing the environmental impact of pandemic lockdowns, and studying space debris. During two CTE webcasts, Robert Twiggs, co-inventor…
Magnitude.io Webcast on High Altitude Balloons (HAB)
As part of the CTE: Mission CubeSat Challenge Program, Magnitude.io conducted a very informative webcast outlining the details of planning, launching and tracking a high altitude balloon (HAB). Highly recommended. Watch the video here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xEjkH6-O_IB82LlpEFltDetJx49A9A94/view Please let me know if the link is no longer valid.
Cubes in Space registration opens Nov 6, 2020
The Cubes in Space program engages high school students and teachers from around the world to design unique experiments, that must fit into a 40mm cube, to be launched into space on a NASA sounding rocket or a high-altitude balloon. Details at https://www.cubesinspace.com/
HobbySpace.com
Your webguide to space hobbies and activities. Its mission: “To prove to you that everyone can participate in space exploration and development in one way or another.” Don’t let the name fool you – it’s more than model rockets. This site is a wealth of information and projects at all levels. Check out HobbySpace.com.
Water Bottle Rockets
I never thought much about water bottle rockets until I viewed a YouTube video on their use in Shields Lab’s virtual summer camp. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Zqx5QCe5b41CcZeWL003g The camp uses Adafruit’s Circuit Playground Express for numerous coding projects and on day 5, the “launch” the CPEx as a flight recorder on a bottle rocket. Since many schools will…
New US Dept of Education Program
The US Department of Education announced a new education program that invites high school students to design and build CubeSat prototypes. Details can be found here: https://www.ctemissioncubesat.com/ A virtual information session was held on September 1, 2020. Zoom recording available on their website.
XinaBox – Modular Components
One of the sponsors of the CTE Mission CubeSat challenge is XinaBox.cc. They developed a unique system of arduino based components, sensors and radios for the STEM/STEAM market. The components “snap” together forming a rigid stable platform for experimentation. Their system is much faster to assemble than traditional breadboarding or even 4-wire systems such as…
Fredric Raab 
