Along with Academic and Athletic competitions, the months of March, April, and May are additionally hosting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Aeronautics Design Challenge called “Dream With Us!” Students through grades 6-12 can submit original pieces from one of the three challenges, which include drone use, future airport and ventiports, and sustainable aircraft designs.

NASA’s Design challenge also has rules and requirements, similar to other competitions. According to NASA, each student can only have one entry which can be in the form of 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional art, photography, video, essay, comic, song, or computer rendition. They must be submitted in either .jpg or .png format, except the essays, comics, or short stories can be submitted in a PDF that is less than 10 MB. NASA also stated that video submissions will have to be uploaded to YouTube with a URL link attached to the submission. There is also a required written description that NASA stated, “(…) must not exceed 250 words.” However, there is practically no limit to creativity, since students have so many options to create it. 

The first challenge, drone use, is to figure out a drone design, small or large, that can help society. Additionally, students must be able to tell how their design will help and how drones are already used in society. The second challenge, future airport or ventiport, is for the students to design what an airport or ventiport will look like in the future. A ventiport is an airport, however, it allows aircraft to take off and land vertically. The design also needs to recognize the landing area, safety and security, waiting area, how the design improves accessibility to places, and what the limitations of today’s airports are. The third challenge for the students is to design sustainable aircraft designs for the future. Whether it’s a whole aircraft or part of one, the passenger plane should have a lower environmental impact. The student should also include how their design benefits the environment and how it improves current technology. 

The “Dream With Us!” design challenge hosted by NASA, is only taking submissions until midnight on May 31, 2022. So, if you or someone you know is interested, check it out and go for it. It is open to all United States children in public schools, private schools, home schools, and for kids of U.S. military members stationed overseas. The results will be posted on NASA’s website on June 15, 2022. Go for it and shoot for the stars.