NSS Space Settlement Contest

History

The contest originates from physicist O'Neill's work on space exploration and was co-founded by NASA Ames Research Center scientist Al Globus and public school teacher Tugrul Sezen in 1994. The inaugural contest received 23 submissions from 60 students, with submissions and student numbers increasing in the following years to 601 students in 2007. In 2007, NASA Ames and the National Space Society (NSS) signed a Space Act Agreement to further the contest's growth.

By 2018, the contest, now operated in conjunction with San Jose State University and the NSS, had expanded internationally and received some 2,500 submissions from over 10,000 students. During this time period, the annual budget for the competition was roughly $1 dollar per student, with Globus remarking that the contest was designed to be "effective and extremely low cost". In 2019, contest sponsorship was fully transferred to the NSS and renamed in 2023 to the NSS Gerard K. O'Neill Space Settlement Contest, in honor of O'Neill.

Competition

Registration opens on December 1 every year and typically ends sometime in mid-February the following year. There is a $15 registration fee, but this can be waived in cases of financial hardship.

Components

The contest focuses on creativity, design, and teamwork. Submissions must relate to a free-floating space settlement, and cannot be attached to a planet or moon, although mining activities may occur on such celestial bodies. Submissions also cannot include any AI-generated work, which includes images and research. Students may submit work including:

• Designs
• Original research
• Essays
• Stories
• Models (e.g. through Tinkercad or SolidWorks)
• Artwork

Awards and prizes

At the end of the season, the top three teams are invited to give individual lectures at the annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in June.

• Grand Prize (Champion): If the team attends the ISDC, they receive the $5,000 Herman Rubin Memorial Scholarship.
• Artistic Merit: $500 scholarship
• Literary Merit: $500 scholarship

Champions

References

References

1. Alex, Brittney. (April 23, 2024). "Peel District School Board Students Claim First, Second, Third and More in the 2024 Global National Space Society Gerard K. O’Neill Space Settlement Contest".
2. Shankar, Priyanka. (December 6, 2017). "For civilisations in outer space". [[Deccan Chronicle]].
3. Joshi, Bharat. (March 31, 2016). "NASA contest: Teens script a space odyssey".
4. "About the Contest".
5. Anghel, Simona. (April 9, 2025). "Liceenii de la ”Ovidius”, din nou în topul cercetătorilor spațiului".
6. (April 17, 2024). "Romanian Students From Computer Science College in Bucharest Win NASA Space Settlement Contest Grand Prize".
7. "Guide to the NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection".
8. (June 2008). "Fifteen Years of NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contests: Some Lessons".
9. Cowing, Keith. (February 18, 2014). "NASA Space Settlement Contest".
10. Barua, Ananya. (April 4, 2018). "Shooting for the stars: Orchid School students take home first prize in Nasa settlement contest".
11. Globus, Al. (Spring 2013). "The Fruits of a Space Settlement Contest". [[Ad Astra (magazine).
12. (March 9, 2025). "Contest Rules".
13. O'Cearbhaill, Muiris. (April 11, 2025). "Irish teenagers to address space experts in US after beating 26,000 other schools".
14. "Awards - Scholarships".