The NSS Gerard K. O'Neill Space Settlement Contest (formerly the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Ames Space Settlement Contest) is an annual design competition by the

National Space Society The National Space Society (NSS) is an American international nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization specializing in space advocacy. It is a member of the Independent Charities of America and an annual participant in the Co ...

for middle and high school students across the world. Held annually, students use physics, biological, and geological concepts to develop

space settlement A space settlement (also called a space habitat, spacestead, space city or space colony) is a settlement in outer space, sustaining more extensively habitation facilities in space than a general space station or spacecraft. Possibly including ...

designs. These designs are composed in research papers and submitted for judging in February, with results usually announced the following month in March. Contenders can compete in three categories: as individuals, as part of a "small group" of up to six students, or as part of a "large group" of up to twelve students. The contest, renamed in the honor of American physicist

Gerard K. O'Neill Gerard Kitchen O'Neill (February 6, 1927 – April 27, 1992) was an American physicist and space activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a device called the particle storage ring for high-energy physics experiments. ...

in 2023, judges and awards teams separately based on their grade and team size; small group projects are graded separately than large group projects, while sophomore teams are graded separately than senior teams. One team each year, regardless of grade or team size, is awarded the "Grand Prize" and crowned that year's champion. The contest's 31st year ran in 2025, with Romania's

Saint Sava Saint Sava (, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; Glagolitic: ; ; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1235/6), known as the Enlightener or the Illuminator, was a Serbs, Serbian prince and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox monk, abbot of Studenica Monastery, Studeni ...

crowned champions.

History

The contest originates from physicist O'Neill's work on

space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...

and was co-founded by NASA Ames Research Center scientist Al Globus 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 Space Act Agreements (abbreviated SAA) are a type of legal agreement specified in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (and subsequent congressional authorizations) that uniquely empowers the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ...

to further the contest's growth. By 2018, the contest, now operated in conjunction with

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

and the NSS, expanded internationally and received some 2,500 submissions from over 10,000 students. 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

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 Tinkercad is a free-of-charge, online 3D modeling program that runs in a web browser. Since it became available in 2011 it has become a popular platform for creating models for 3D printing as well as an entry-level introduction to constructive ...

SolidWorks SolidWorks (stylized as SOLIDWORKS) is a brand of software used for solid modeling computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided engineering (CAE). It was one of the first 3D CAD applications designed to run on a desktop PC. The brand is owned ...

) * Artwork

Awards and prizes

The top three teams are invited to give a lecture at the annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC). * Grand Prize (Champion): If the team is attending the ISDC, they will receive the $5,000 Herman Rubin Memorial Scholarship and give a talk at the conference. * Artistic Merit: $500 scholarship * Literary Merit: $500 scholarship

Champions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Space Settlement Contest Space colonization