AI for STEM Education Initiative (2026)

AI for STEM Education Initiative (2026) is sponsored by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA's AI for STEM Education Initiative supports projects that utilize AI to enhance STEM education and outreach activities. This includes providing students with firsthand experience in machine learning and artificial intelligence as they design and operate robotic rovers.

For Students Grades 9-12 - NASA International Space Station Spacesuits, Exercise, and Cargo Ops Wrap Week Aboard Station NASA to Cover Progress 96 Spacecraft Launch, Docking NASA’s Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn’s South Pole Upcoming Launches and Landings Communicating with Missions James Webb Space Telescope International Space Station Earth Science Researchers Asteroids, Comets & Meteors The Search for Life in the Universe Astrophysics & Space Science Biological & Physical Sciences Human Space Travel Research Flight Research Innovation Technology Transfer & Spinoffs Manufacturing and Materials For Colleges and Universities Requests for Exhibits, Artifacts, Speakers & Flyovers Upcoming Launches & Landings NASA Brand & Usage Guidelines NASA’s X-59 Aircraft Builds Momentum Through 25th Flight NASA’s Hubble Spies Superbubble Scene NASA’s Dragonfly Gets Wired Up While Titan Landing Area Is Named Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds NASA’s LRO Images Falcon 9 Crater on Moon, Learns New Details NASA Will Attempt to Observe Rocket Part’s Lunar Impact A Bright Spot at Mount Michael A Trio of Tropical Cyclones in the Pacific NASA’s Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn’s South Pole NASA Rocket Takes First Multi-Point Look Inside Radio-Disrupting Clouds What’s Up: September 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA NASA’s Hubble Spies Superbubble Scene 9 Things to Know About NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars Information for Funded Projects NASA Johnson Pilots Chase Moon’s Shadow for Eclipse Science NASA Selects University Teams to Help Advance Aviation Research NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure Ribbon-Cutting Event for NASA Deep Space Network’s Deep Space Station 23 NASA Deep Space Network’s New Goldstone Antenna Goes Online Panorama Showcasing the 34-Meter Antennas of the DSN’s Goldstone Complex NASA Revamps Challenge Linking Community College Studies to Aerospace Careers Building Foresight for Earth Science, featuring Lindsey Jacobson Commercial Spacecraft for NASA’s Swift Boost Continues Tech Demo NASA Welcomes Türkiye as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory President Honors NASA’s Artemis II Crew with Highest US Space Award La NASA anuncia la cobertura de la misión lunar Artemis II Agenda diaria de la misión a la Luna de Artemis II de la NASA La NASA refuerza Artemis: añade una misión y perfecciona su arquitectura general Hack Club: Stardance Challenge NASA and Hack Club invite students ages 13 to 18 to flex their creativity this summer with the Stardance Challenge.

Participants can create anything from code and apps to electronics, circuit boards, models, and simulations. Hack Club will offer peer and expert reviews, prizes, and opportunities to show off your work. NASA will provide access to publicly available datasets, mission materials, multimedia, and virtual sessions with subject matter experts who will share space science, engineering, and career insights.

Challenge Dates: June 1- Sept. 30 NASA Spring 2027 Internships Don't miss your chance to find your place in space with a NASA internship next spring. NASA offers several opportunities for students to undertake meaningful and challenging projects that truly make an impact on humanity.

Applications Due: Sept. 14 2027 NASA Student Launch Competition NASA’s Student Launch competition is accepting proposals for its 2027 competition. Student Launch challenges teams to design, build, and fly a high-powered rocket containing a science or engineering payload.

After a competitive proposal selection process, teams complete a series of design reviews that mirror the NASA engineering design life cycle. Proposal Deadline: Sept. 14 2026 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Symposium Join the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Program for its annual symposium at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

This event will feature presentations from currently funded NIAC Fellows. These presentations will cover a diverse range of research areas including revolutionary exploration systems, novel propulsion, human systems and architectures for extreme environments, imaging for deep space exploration, and more. Event Dates: Sept.

15-17 Collect Data for NASA During GLOBE's PACE Clouds Challenge NASA’s PACE satellite – short for Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem – is entering the phase of its mission when scientists are learning how to use the information it provides to study clouds and aerosols. NASA scientists working on the mission are asking for your help to collect cloud observations when the PACE satellite is passing over your location.

Challenge Dates: Sept. 15-Oct. 15 CTE Day at Marshall Space Flight Center At Marshall Space Flight Center, students will get an up-close look at the technical expertise that powers NASA’s missions, experiencing firsthand how skilled technicians form the backbone of MSFC’s mission success—from operating advanced manufacturing and 3D‑printing equipment to assembling, testing, and maintaining critical propulsion and spacecraft components.

Event Date: Sept. 16 Virtual Event: NASA’s CTE Day at Marshall Space Flight Center Join NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to get an up-close look at the technical expertise that powers NASA's missions. Students will discover how skilled technicians form the backbone of MSFC's mission success.

From operating advanced manufacturing and 3D-printing equipment to assembling, testing, and maintaining critical propulsion and spacecraft components, students will gain insight into the wide range of technical disciplines represented at Marshall Space Flight Center. Registration Deadline: Sept. 8 Event Date: Sept.

16 2027 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) is accepting proposals for its 2027 competition. HERC aligns with the goals of the agency’s Artemis missions to the Moon, emphasizing designing, constructing, and testing technologies while traversing unique, environmental terrain. Proposal Deadline: Sept.

17 International Observe the Moon Night You are invited to join observers around the world in learning about lunar science and exploration, making celestial observations, and honoring cultural and personal connections to the Moon. Event Date: Sept. 19 CTE Day at Kennedy Space Center Rapid prototyping and problem-solving are critical to achieving complex NASA missions and advancing space exploration.

In this event, students will hear directly from Kennedy Space Center subject matter experts about their career journeys to NASA, what a typical day in their role looks like, and the diverse pathways available for students pursuing technical careers at the agency.

Students will explore the wide range of technical disciplines represented in KSC's Prototype Development Laboratory (PDL), where NASA engineers, technicians, fabricators and machinists all collaborate to solve complex operational challenges at America's premier launch site. Event Date: Sept.

24 Virtual Event: NASA's CTE Day at Kennedy Space Center Join NASA Kennedy Space Center to explore how rapid prototyping and problem-solving are critical to achieving complex NASA missions and advancing space exploration.

Students will hear directly from Kennedy Space Center subject matter experts about their career journeys to NASA, what a typical day in their role looks like, and the diverse pathways available for students pursuing technical careers at the agency. Registration Deadline: Sept. 15 Event Date: Sept.

24 CTE Day at Stennis Space Center Career Technical Education (CTE) Day at NASA's Stennis Space Center introduces local community college students to hands-on technical careers that support the NASA mission to the moon and beyond.

Students will engage with NASA employees during a panel discussion and participate in behind-the-scenes tours of rocket engine test stands, industrial shops, and other technical workspaces to see how applied skills are used in real world operations that support the NASA Stennis Space Center mission. Event Date: Sept.

30 Virtual Event: NASA’s CTE Day at Stennis Space Center Join NASA Stennis Space Center to discover hands-on technical careers that support the NASA mission to the moon and beyond! Students will explore career pathways that are in high demand at NASA Stennis Space Center, including roles that do not require a four-year degree.

Through this virtual experience, students will gain insight into the wide range of technical disciplines that power rocket propulsion testing and autonomous systems development. Registration Deadline: Sept. 21 Event Date: Sept.

30 NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy The NASA EarthRISE Developers Academy builds the next generation of science and technology leaders by immersing students and early career scientists in projects using NASA data to address real-world challenges.

Through collaborative projects, professional development, and cooperation with state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners, the Academy equips participants with skills to accelerate innovation and bridge Earth science with the future of space exploration. Application Deadline: Oct. 9 2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge The 2026 NASA Space Apps Challenge theme, the Next Frontier, is live!

This year, Space Apps participants will develop tools that benefit humanity and contribute to the science and technology propelling us to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Registration opens on Aug. 26!

Thank you for helping us amplify our theme and registration campaign. Event Dates: Nov. 14-15 NASA TechRise Student Challenge The NASA TechRise Student Challenge invites student teams in grades 6-12 to submit science and technology experiment ideas to fly on a suborbital flight vehicle.

Students attending U.S. public, private, or charter schools – including those in U.S. territories – are challenged to team up to design an experiment under the guidance of an educator. Entry Deadline: Nov. 2 Open Science Training Courses NASA has developed two freely accessible open science training courses designed for learners who are seeking to enhance their knowledge of open science concepts.

Our Open Science Essentials and Open Science 101 courses are the perfect starting point for researchers and managers of all disciplines! Celebrate 50 Years of NASA Spinoffs Where is NASA in your life? Everywhere!

In your car, in your home, in your school, and in the world around you. This year, the NASA Spinoff publication is celebrating 50 years of spotlighting the NASA technologies that improve everyday life on Earth. Check out the latest spinoff technology innovations in the Spinoff 2026 publication.

Join the Hunt for Brown Dwarf-Star Pairs With Backyard Worlds: Binaries Project Some stars have planets. Others are orbited by brown dwarfs, balls of gas too massive to be planets, but too low-mass to be stars. Astronomers love these brown dwarf-star pairs because being paired with a star helps reveal a brown dwarf’s age.

The new Backyard Worlds: Binaries project lets you help scientists discover these rare and interesting pairs. Help Identify Distant Star-Forming Regions With Galaxy Zoo’s Clump Scout II Project Galaxies often contain “clumps,” bright spots where stars are forming fastest. Observatories like the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope are capturing ever-more detailed images of galaxies and these areas of interest.

The Galaxy Zoo: Clump Scout II project lets you help scientists train a machine learning model to better identify and mark these clumps. Citizen Science: Become a Shock Detective Earth is constantly immersed in a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun: the solar wind.

As this fast-moving solar wind encounters Earth’s magnetic field, it creates a massive shock wave in space – stretching hundreds of thousands of miles beyond our planet. Volunteers are needed to help scientists examine NASA data about this “bow shock” as part of a new research project: Shock Detectives. You can help by identifying patterns in data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission.

What we learn here may help us better understand how other stars affect their orbiting planets. Journey Through the Heliosphere: The Sun-Earth System in Color Spark curiosity and creativity with the new “Journey Through the Heliosphere” coloring book.

Designed for adults and students in grades 6-12, the downloadable resource includes science facts and coloring pages for ten themes, including the Sun’s magnetic field, solar wind, aurora, eclipses, and how the Sun influences Earth. Help Map Earth’s Magnetic Field With Space Umbrella When charged particles in the solar wind reach our planet, Earth’s magnetic field acts as a giant umbrella to shield us.

NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale mission has been collecting data in this dynamic region of space since 2015. And now, the Space Umbrella project lets you help scientists examine mission data to better understand solar storms.

Exploring NASA Workforce and Careers Use these resources to explore the wide range of careers that support the agency’s missions—far beyond the familiar roles of rocket scientists and astronauts—and to discover how each person’s path to NASA is as unique as the work they do.

Career Spotlight: Mechanic Career Spotlight: Electrician Career Spotlight: Mathematician Career Spotlight: Technologist Career Spotlight: Scientist Career Spotlight: Engineer What Type of Engineering is Right for You? Surprisingly STEM: Telescope Engineer Surprisingly STEM: Wildfire Aeronautics Researcher Surprisingly STEM: Memory Metal Engineer Surprisingly STEM: Exploration Geologist What Does a NASA Human Factors Engineer do?

Surprisingly STEM: Space Food Scientist Cosmic Careers: Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory Diver NASA Experts Share Their Best Study Tips!

Surprisingly STEM: Soft Robotics Engineering Surprisingly STEM: Marine Biologists NASA Careers and Job Openings The aerospace industry offers outstanding career opportunities for skilled technical workers who possess strong technological, scientific, and engineering capabilities—many of which do not require a bachelor’s degree for entry.

Explore Aerospace Skilled Technical Workforce Opportunities about Next Gen STEM for Careers Hubble's Cosmic Adventure Web App Go on a Cosmic Journey with Hubble Frequently Asked Questions Help Scientists Search for Asteroids Around Dead Stars Test Your Nebulae Knowledge What Kind of Exoplanet Explorer Are You?

Get the GLOBE Observer App Make and Share Arts and Crafts Inspired by Landsat Build the Orion Spacecraft Take a Virtual Trip to Mars Interactive 3D Rover Experience Build Your Own Mars Rover Female Space Science Heroes Featured in New Interactive App NASA Calls on Gamers, Citizen Scientists to Help Map World’s Corals Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Game Download, Print and Build Paper Spacecraft Models Virtual Reality Tours of Commercial Crew Facilities Now Available: NASA+, a new ad-free, no-cost, family-friendly streaming service that embeds you into our missions through new original video series.

Start Exploring NASA+ about NASA+ Read the Latest Issue of Astrobiology: The Story of Our Search for Life in the Universe Decorate Your Space With Artemis Download Earth Day Posters Aeronautics Virtual Backgrounds Download a Poster of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Space Launch System Infographics Solar System and Beyond Poster Set Create or Download an Infographic NASA-Themed Pumpkin-Carving Templates and Stencils Join the Artemis Mission to the Moon Make, launch, compete and learn.

Find your favorite way to be part of the Artemis mission. Go to the Website about Join the Artemis Mission to the Moon get social with nasa stem engagement Learn With NASA Pinterest Discover More Topics From NASA NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities For Students