NASA opens a $1 million Moon Base Student Challenge for school and college teams

8 November 2026

NASA has announced the $1 million Moon Base Student Challenge, opened at a MAX POWER event at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The multiphase competition asks student teams from United States high schools and post-secondary schools to propose designs for NASA's Moon Base, a base planned at the lunar South Pole. Six fields are open to the teams, who prepare trade studies, concept proposals and briefings: making and storing power; construction; keeping crews alive; moving about on the surface; communications networks; and the safety of astronauts. No prior specialised engineering experience is needed, and technical, vocational and academic tracks can all enter. Registration runs through the NASA STEM Gateway until 25 January 2027. NASA's Office of STEM Engagement designed the challenge with the Moon Base Program, and the Institute of Competition Sciences administers it under the NASA Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Moon Base Program manager Carlos Garcia-Galan and Office of STEM Engagement associate administrator Elaine Ho are quoted in the release.