Astronaut

STEM Space Competition

Are you ready to take your experiments beyond the boundaries of our planet? San Jacinto College is excited to introduce the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. We've partnered with the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education for this cosmic adventure. Join us and launch your scientific dreams to new heights!

The Mission: Inspire, Innovate, create
Students doing an experiment with a teacher

The future of science and innovation is in the hands of today's students. San Jac invites college and local high school students to join us in this incredible expedition. Together, we're reaching for the stars.

Teams are made up of three to five students, a faculty advisor, and an industry mentor. Together, you'll research, design, and propose a microgravity experiment for an astronaut to conduct on the International Space Station.

Each proposal will be reviewed by a team of San Jac scientists, engineers, and educators. Three proposals — regional finalists — will move on to the final round. The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education will select the winner. 

The winning team will then create, optimize, and send its experiment for a trip to the International Space Station.

Getting Started

  1. Build Your Student Team

    Each team must include three to five students. Teams can be made up of San Jac students or high school students.

    Student Registration Form

  2. Find an Advisor and a Mentor

    You must have a faculty advisor from your school and an industry mentor as part of your team. If you do not have an industry mentor, please contact us and we will pair you with one.

    If you are interested in being a mentor, please contact Dr. Christopher Wild at (281) 922-3466 or email him at christopher.wild@sjcd.edu.  

    Teacher Registration

  3. Start Your Engines

    You have until November 3 to research, design, and propose your microgravity experiment. All proposals must be submitted through the online form by Friday, November 3, 2023.

    *Submission Form coming soon

Student Resources

 
  • Proposal Submission: November 3, 2023
  • Top three finalists selected by San Jacinto team: November 13, 2023
  • Flight Experiment Announcement at EDGE Center: December 18, 2023
  • Experiment Testing, Refinement, and Optimization: December 18, 2023 through February 2, 2024
  • Mission Patch Competition Start: Jan. 16, 2024
  • Final Flight Safety Review: Feb. 9, 2024 (NASA Toxicology receives master list of experiment samples)
  • Mission Patch Competition Submission: Feb. 9, 2024
  • Mission Patches Selection: Feb. 23, 2024
  • Launch: Details to be announced (fall 2024). SpaceX will carry the experiment to the ISS.

View a more complete list of milestones for the proposal and the mission patches at these links to the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program website:

  • Proposal Submission: November 3, 2023
  • Top three finalists selected by San Jacinto team: November 13, 2023
  • Flight Experiment Announcement at EDGE Center: December 18, 2023
  • Experiment Testing, Refinement, and Optimization: December 18, 2023 through February 2, 2024
  • Mission Patch Competition Start: Jan. 16, 2024
  • Final Flight Safety Review: Feb. 9, 2024 (NASA Toxicology receives master list of experiment samples)
  • Mission Patch Competition Submission: Feb. 9, 2024
  • Mission Patches Selection: Feb. 23, 2024
  • Launch: Details to be announced (fall 2024). SpaceX will carry the experiment to the ISS.

View a more complete list of milestones for the proposal and the mission patches at these links to the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program website:

The proposal must follow the Flight Experiment Proposal Guide for Student Spaceflight Experiments Program Mission 18. Professional writing and grammar will be important, and the proposal must contain these sections:

  1. Section I: Proposal Cover Page — one-page limit with proposal summary under 250 words
  2. Section II: Student Team Members and Professional Advisors — as many pages as needed
  3. Section III: Experiment Materials and Handling Requirements — as many pages as needed
  4. Section IV: Question to be Addressed by the Experiment — two-page limit 
  5. Section V: Experiment Design — three-page limit
  6. Section VI: List of Reference Publications — as many pages as needed
  7. Section VII: Letter of Certification by Teacher Facilitator — letter must have teacher facilitator’s signature

Mini-Laboratory Operation:

The Student Space Flight Experiments Program [or just “SSEP”] is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education Internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks, LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory.

Mission Control: Student Support

Are you interested in helping students shoot for the moon? San Jacinto College is looking for mentors, judges, and sponsors for this new program. If you are interested, we invite you to learn more about how you can support this program.

Mentors

Each team needs a faculty advisor and an industry mentor. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge to a budding space exploration team, please contact Dr. Christopher Wild at (281) 922-3466 or email him at christopher.wild@sjcd.edu.  

Judges

If you don’t have time to mentor a team but still want to share your expertise, serve as a judge. In early November, we need local experts to help us select the three regional finalists. If you are interested in evaluating proposals, please fill out the judging questionnaire.

Sponsors

San Jac is committed to making this project a success for our area youth without any cost to them. We need individuals and companies to help make these space experiments a reality. Learn more about how you can sponsor students. 

For more information regarding sponsorships, please contact Dr. Christopher Wild at (281) 922-3466 or email him at christopher.wild@sjcd.edu.