NASATECHRISE: Student-Designed STEM Experiments Win NASA Flight Opportunities

As reported 21-January, NASA has selected 57 winning teams in an inaugural nationwide challenge designed to attract, engage, and prepare future science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professionals.  “The winning teams of the NASA TechRise Student Challenge will gain real world STEM experience by building experiments that autonomously operate and collect data from the edge of space aboard a suborbital rocket or a high-altitude balloon.  Administered by Future Engineers, the challenge aims to inspire students to seek a deeper understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, space exploration, coding, and electronics, as well as an appreciation of the importance of test data. Nearly 600 teams applied, representing 5,000 students in grades 6 through 12 from across the country. The winning teams come from 37 states and territories and include more than 600 students. The selected student teams will build the payloads in preparation for flight test, targeted to take place in early 2023.

“A slate of nearly 500 volunteer judges, including teachers, NASA personnel, and technology subject matter experts, offered their time, passion, and expertise to review entries and select winners across a broad geographic distribution. NASA’s flight opportunities program, part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate, manages the challenge with support from NASA's Office of STEM Engagement. Flight Opportunities is based at Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. For the latest NASA TechRise Student Challenge news and to follow the student teams’ progress, visit: https://www.futureengineers.org/nasatechrise.  Our thanks to Keith Shaw, Robotics-Data.com, for his assistance with this report.