Join the NASA team!

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP) is a national program of investigations

and design challenges. NSIP links students directly with NASA’s diverse and exciting

missions of research, exploration, and discovery. By participating in these competitions

and learning activities, students design space missions, investigate Earth from space,

explore Earth systems in their neighborhood, and learn about the latest developments

in aerospace technology. NSIP is a wonderful opportunity for students to learn science

by getting involved in NASA’s story of adventure, discovery, and invention!

NSIP’s six competition areas will engage your students’ interests. Bring NASA into your

classroom to support units on space, history, math, language arts, engineering, geography,

and the sciences. Our competitions and resource guides support national science,

mathematics, and technology education standards.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

NSIP 2002 winners from Rice High School, Sauk Rapids, MN

My Planet, Earth

Science and Technology Journalism

Aerospace Technology

Engineering Challenge

Design a Mission to Mars . . . and Beyond

Watching Earth Change

Space Flight Opportunities

Competition Areas Grades

K–1 2–4

whole class

5–8 9–12

whole class team or

whole class

team or

whole class

team or

individual

team or

individual

team

team or

individual

team or

individual

team

individual

team or

individual

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)
My Planet, Earth

Grades K–1: Whole Class

Grades 2–4: Teams of 2–4 or Whole Class

Study Our Amazing and Beautiful Planet!

Select a study site in your neighborhood and get to know its features. NASA research

scientists have learned that the Earth shows different faces and tells different stories

when it is observed and described from many perspectives. Students identify and describe

features and creatures of the air, land, and water. Their drawings and observations of

the site are gathered, shared, and combined into one story. This is an excellent culminating

activity and can be readily linked with your local community environmental focus and

environmental education resources such as the GLOBE program and Project WILD.

Learning Objectives:

1. Do scientific inquiry, make observations, draw pictures, create maps, and graphs to

describe and understand your environment.

2. Understand Earth as a dynamic system. Identify and report on the connections

between its living and nonliving parts on land, in water, and in air.

Procedure:

1. Divide the class into four teams and assign a different aspect of the environment to

each team: land, air, water, and life.

2. Describe the site; include students’ drawings, maps, photographs, diagrams,

and/or graphs.

3. Gather illustrations and descriptions of students’ observations and thoughts about

how the different parts of the study site might be interconnected.

4. Provide a description of how the measurements and observations were made.

5. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

Original entry drawings

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)
Science and Technology Journalism

Grades K–1: Class

Grades 2–4: Class or Teams of 2–4

Grades 5–12: Individuals or Teams of 2–4

The Wright Quest

Celebrate a century of flight! Discover the past, invent the future!

Reflect upon the adventures of flight. What happened on a cold windswept

beach near Kitty Hawk, NC, on December 17, 1903? What were the events

leading up to this milestone? How did this event change the world? Who are others

who have or are exploring the fundamentals of flight? What are the benefits to our

world? What is the future of aviation? What research is happening right now? Inventions?

Can you predict future aviation milestones?

Learning Objectives:

Share scientific and technical achievements in a manner that is accurate, engaging, and

informative—one that speaks to the inner spirit of exploration and discovery.

Procedure:

1. Develop a news report using one of the following media:

• Print—An article with relevant photos, illustrations, or other graphics, laid out for 

publication.

• VHS videotape—A five-minute report in your choice of format (e.g., newscast,

investigative or special report, or documentary).

2. Submit documentation about investigation and production methods.

3. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

Go to NASA for theme resources:

http://www.aerospace.nasa.gov/centuryofflight

Special Theme For

2003–04

School Years

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

Robert E. Lucas Intermediate School,

Cincinnati, Ohio
Aerospace Technology Engineering Challenge

Grades 5–8: Teams of 2–4

Design and Build an Aerospace Structure!

NASA aerospace engineers must balance their need for speed against the need for

lighter, stronger materials. In this competition, students construct and test a structure

that can withstand the forces of launch. Students will create a durable, lightweight, and

reusable thrust structure with inexpensive everyday materials. Using scientific inquiry,

critical thinking, systematic observation, and analysis of data, students will gain insight

into the engineering design process. By designing, building, testing, and redesigning

their own models, students will gain firsthand knowledge about the challenges faced

by NASA engineers as they work on the next generation of aerospace vehicles.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discover and understand forces and the transfer of energy involved with a simple

physical structure through experimentation with variables and controls.

2. Gain insight into the engineering design process by designing, making, and testing 

a simple spacecraft launch system.

3. Understand NASA spacecraft launch systems.

Procedure:

1. Use the “log,” “design,” and “test results” worksheets in your engineering design 

process.

2. Build, test, and redesign, rebuild, and retest.

3. Describe the original design and the modifications.

4. Relate what you learned from your experiences. Present conclusions about your

design process and explain why and how the modifications improved the results.

5. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

Students massing the

thrust structure.

Putting a thrust

structure to the test.

Students launching

a thrust structure.

Example of a thrust

structure design.
“Design a Mission to Mars . . . and Beyond”

Grades 5–8: Individuals or Teams of 2–4

Grades 9–12: Individuals or Teams of 2–4

Explore Our Solar System!

Investigate the solar system via a mission you create. If you could send a mission to any

planet, moon, asteroid, or other object in the solar system, what would you look for,

and how would you do it? Define the interplanetary question(s) you want your mission

to answer. Then, design a mission to answer the question(s). You may design a robotic,

orbital, flyby, lander, sample return mission, or even send humans to explore firsthand.

Learning Objectives:

Students will learn the following:

1. An understanding of the solar system based on current theory and spacecraft 

findings.

2. How to design a scientific research plan.

3. How to design a space mission that can effectively carry out the planned research.

4. How data are gathered, analyzed, and communicated by spacecraft instruments.

Procedure:

1. Define a research question on some aspect of the solar system.

2. Describe the science details of your mission, including the research focus, type of

mission (robotic, orbital, human, sample return, or other), data to be collected,

target sites for landing, or orbital study, etc. Explain how the mission will address

the research question.

3. Present a proposal that argues for the scientific merits and viability of your mission

on the basis of information about past and present interplanetary missions, and

data, graphs, maps, and images.

4. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

Sixth-grade students at Williamsburg Middle

School study a Mars map and possible

landing sites.
Watching Earth Change

Grades 5–8: Individuals or Teams of 2–4

Grades 9–12: Individuals

Explore Our Planet Using NASA Tools and Technology!

This is a great opportunity for original student exploration! Students may choose from

an unlimited number of topics such as animal migration, global warming, conservation,

severe weather events, volcanoes, ozone depletion, urban growth, and more. Cuttingedge NASA science and technology enable observations of the Earth system with

unprecedented depth and detail. The challenge is for students to use NASA data (e.g.,

satellite data, graphs, maps, aerial photos, etc.) to test their own hypotheses about how

Earth is changing. (The Thacher Scholarship, a $4,000 independently funded prize, will

be awarded to one grade 9–12 NASA Center winner in this competition.)

Learning Objectives:

1. Design and carry out a scientific research plan, and communicate the results.

• Use quantitative data, graphs, maps, and images to monitor changes.

• Analyze data and information, reach conclusions that support or

refute a hypothesis.

2. Investigate how the Earth changes through physical, chemical, and biological

interactions that occur over many scales of time and space, on land, in water, and

in the air.

Procedure:

1. Select a research topic (e.g., potential effects of climate change on Nebraska’s

farm production or the shrinking Antarctic ice shelves), identify research questions,

and develop a hypothesis.

2. Select a time period (e.g., 1950–2000) within which to test the hypothesis about

change over time.

3. Identify and gather information (articles, press releases, personal testimony, etc.) and

quantitative data (e.g., satellite data, graphs, maps, aerial photos, etc.) to monitor

changes relevant to the hypothesis.

4. Analyze the data and present arguments that support or refute the hypothesis.

5. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

“When I started, I was not sure what to do my NSIP project on. I started thinking

about sand dunes, and I kept getting more information and more interested. Sand

dunes are more important than some people think to our agricultural areas.”

Rachna P., Watching Earth Change, Fordyce High School, Fordyce, AR

“I didn’t know when I started this NSIP project that I would get this much out of it.

Scientists were really interested about what I had to say.”

William W., 2002 Thacher Award Winner, Horace Greeley High School, Chappaqua, NY
Space Flight Opportunities Competition

Grades 9–12: Teams of 2–4

Design an Experiment and Fly It Into Space!

NASA will fly experiments chosen from NSIP entries for each of two Space Flight Opportunities:

• SEM experiments fly on the Space Shuttle, and

• Sub-SEM experiments fly above 99.8 percent of the atmosphere on a dedicated NASA

sounding rocket.

NSIP will provide the information, guidance, and support your team needs to propose a

winning experiment. You and your students can concentrate on developing your ideas

because NASA takes care of extensive arrangements to accommodate and fly your experiments.

The teacher and up to four student representatives of each team selected for flight will win

an expense-paid trip to Student Flight Week at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Additional awards may be made as well for high-ranking entries. During SEM Flight Week,

SEM experiments will be examined and packaged to await Shuttle flight. During Sub-SEM

Flight Week (launch conditions permitting) the Sub-SEM rocket will be flown.

Learning Objectives:

1. Investigate a topic chosen by the team. The experiment will engage active learning

in biology, physics, Earth science, or another field.

2. Design and complete a scientific research plan, and communicate the results.

3. Analyze data and information, and how to use this information to draw conclusions

that either support or refute a hypothesis.

4. Work together as a team to coordinate distinct tasks, roles, and responsibilities.

Procedure:

1. Download or request the Space Flight Opportunities resource guide for more detailed

information and suggestions.

2. Brainstorm experiment ideas and choose one to investigate further.

3. E-mail a “Letter of Intent” which contains a preliminary plan that briefly explains the

proposed experiment to spaceflight@NSIP.net. NSIP staff will offer feedback and

suggestions.

4. Complete, sign, and send: a) entry form, b) educator data form, and c) checklists.

For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

“The most valuable aspect of this experience is the fact that an experiment designed and managed by

a student was selected for a space flight mission.”

“Working at the Wallops Flight Facility along with a group of scientists and engineers has given me the

opportunity to get a first glimpse of what to expect in the engineering field.”

2002 student winners of Space Flight Opportunities, during “SEM Flight Week”, at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, VA
For complete details and to obtain an entry form, competition rules, checklist, judging rubric, and resource guide, please

visit http://education.nasa.gov/nsip. Any questions? Send e-mail to: info@nsip.net or call: 1-800-848-8429.

NSIP Due Dates and Awards

Due Dates: 

January 15

Space Flight Opportunities

January 31

My Planet, Earth

Science and Technology Journalism

Aerospace Technology Engineering Challenge

Watching Earth Change

Design a Mission to Mars

Awards

• Launch student experiments into space

• Win a trip to a NASA special event

• The Thacher Scholarship

• NASA award presentation at your school

• Space Camp for national student winners

• NSIP plaques and medals for winners

• Certificates for all participants

The NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

“The program allows a chance for students to explore an area of interest in a creative

and unique manner which allows the students to shine and take real ownership of an

idea. Seeing the national winners taught me how to better prepare and educate my

students on how to explore, investigate, and present ideas.”

Martin Teachworth, California high school teacher

“The NSIP program was an event of a lifetime! I feel that I have a successful insight

to NSIP from the viewpoint of the small, rural, low socioeconomic school districts. I

am very interested in promoting NSIP. It has been a wonderful program for my students.

Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way.”

Pam Vaughan, Fordyce High School teacher/faculty preparation and enhancement programs

“I want to thank NSIP for giving me such a wonderful opportunity. It was a great

experience I’ll never forget. The NSIP program has really opened my eyes to different

job options. Who knows, maybe one day I may work for NASA!”

Whitney B., Watching Earth Change winner, former Arkansas high school student

“Sharing the latest technologies with students is an excellent dividend to the Government’s

initial investment. Kids are always hungry for new information. Sharing with them is

an investment in the future.”

Laura Gaspar-Finer, parent, FL
Regional Educator Resource Centers offer more educators

access to NASA educational materials. NASA has formed

partnerships with universities, museums, and other educational

institutions to serve as regional ERCs in many States. A complete

list of regional ERCs is available through CORE, or electronically

via NASA Spacelink at http://spacelink.nasa.gov/ercn

NASA’s Central Operation of Resources for Educators (CORE)

was established for the national and international distribution

of NASA-produced educational materials in multimedia format.

Educators can obtain a catalogue and an order form by one of

the following methods:

NASA CORE

Lorain County Joint Vocational School

15181 Route 58, South

Oberlin, OH 44074-9799

Phone: (440) 775-1400

Fax: (440) 775-1460

E-mail: nasaco@leeca.org

Home Page: http://core.nasa.gov

Educator Resource Center Network (ERCN)

To make additional information available to the education

community, NASA has created the NASA Educator Resource

Center Network (ERCN). Educators may preview, copy, or receive

NASA materials at these sites. Phone calls are welcome if you

are unable to visit the ERC that serves your geographic area. The

following is a list of the Centers and the regions they serve:

AK, Northern CA, HI, ID, MT,

NV, OR, UT, WA, WY

NASA Educator Resource Center

NASA Ames Research Center

Mail Stop 253-2

Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000

Phone: (650) 604-3574

IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI

NASA Educator Resource Center

NASA Glenn Research Center

Mail Stop 8-1

21000 Brookpark Road

Cleveland, OH 44135

Phone: (216) 433-2017

CT, DE, DC, ME, MD, MA, NH,

NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT

NASA Educator Resource Laboratory

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Mail Code 130.3

Greenbelt, MD 20771-0001

Phone: (301) 286-8570

CO, KS, NE, NM, ND, OK, SD, TX

Space Center Houston

NASA Educator Resource Center for

NASA Johnson Space Center

1601 NASA Road One

Houston, TX 77058

Phone: (281) 244-2129

FL, GA, PR, VI

NASA Educator Resource Center

NASA Kennedy Space Center

Mail Code ERC

Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

Phone: (321) 867-4090

KY, NC, SC, VA, WV

Virginia Air & Space Center

Educator Resource Center for

NASA Langley Research Center

600 Settlers Landing Road

Hampton, VA 23669-4033

Phone: (757) 727-0900, ext. 757

AL, AR, IA, LA, MO, TN

U.S. Space and Rocket Center

NASA Educator Resource Center for

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

One Tranquility Base

Huntsville, AL 35758

Phone: (256) 544-5812

MS

NASA Educator Resource Center

NASA Stennis Space Center

Mail Stop 1200

Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

Phone: (228) 688-3338

CA

NASA Educator Resource Center for

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Village at Indian Hill

1460 East Holt Avenue, Suite 20

Pomona, CA 91767

Phone: (909) 397-4420

AZ and Southern CA

NASA Educator Resource Center

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

P.O. Box 273, Mail Stop 4839

Edwards, CA 93523-0273

Phone: (661) 276-5009 or

(800) 521-3416, ext. 5009

VA and MD’s Eastern Shores

NASA Educator Resource Center for

GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility

Visitor Center Building J-17

Wallops Island, VA 23337

Phone: (757) 824-2298

NASA’s Education Home Page serves as the education portal

for information regarding educational programs and services

offered by NASA for the American education community. This

high-level directory of information provides specific details and

points of contact for all of NASA’s educational efforts, Field

Center offices, and points of presence within each State. Visit

this resource at http://education.nasa.gov

NASA Spacelink is one of NASA’s electronic resources specifically

developed for the educational community. Spacelink serves as

an electronic library to NASA’s educational and scientific

resources, with hundreds of subject areas arranged in a manner

familiar to educators. Using Spacelink Search, educators and

students can easily find information among NASA’s thousands

of Internet resources. Special events, missions, and intriguing

NASA Web sites are featured in Spacelink’s Hot Topics and

Cool Picks areas. Spacelink may be accessed at

http://spacelink.nasa.gov

NASA Spacelink is the official home to electronic versions of

NASA’s educational products. A complete listing of NASA

educational products can be found at

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/products

NASA Television (NTV) features Space Station and Shuttle

mission coverage, live special events, interactive educational

live shows, electronic field trips, aviation and space news, and

historical NASA footage. Programming has a three-hour block—

Video (News) File, NASA Gallery, and Education File—beginning

at noon Eastern and repeated four more times throughout the

day. Live feeds preempt regularly scheduled programming.

Check the Internet for programs listings at

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information on NTV, contact:

NASA TV

NASA Headquarters—Code P-2

Washington, DC 20546-0001

Phone: (202) 358-3572

NTV Weekday Programming Schedules (Eastern Times)

Video File NASA Gallery Education File

12–1 p.m. 1–2 p.m. 2–3 p.m.

 3–4 p.m. 4–5 p.m. 5–6 p.m.

 6–7 p.m. 7–8 p.m. 8–9 p.m.

9–10 p.m. 10–11 p.m. 11–12 p.m.

12–1 a.m. 1–2 a.m. 2–3 a.m.

How to Access Information on NASA’s Education Program,

Materials, and Services (EP-2002-07-345-HQ)

This brochure serves as a guide to accessing a variety of NASA

materials and services for educators. Copies are available

through the ERC network or electronically via NASA Spacelink.

Please take a moment to evaluate this product at

http://ehb2.gsfc.nasa.gov/edcats/educational_wallsheet. Your

evaluation and suggestions are vital to continually improving

NASA educational materials. Thank You.

NASA Resources for Educators

EW-2003-02-135-HQ