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$1,500 NASA TechRise Student Challenge

  • Organization: NASA
  • Type: Competition
  • Location: United States
  • Deadline: November 2, 2026
  • Funding: Fully Funded

NASA's Flight Opportunities program, with Future Engineers running the challenge, asks school teams of four or more students in grades 6 to 12 to design a science or technology experiment that could fly on a high-altitude balloon into Earth's upper atmosphere. Teams write a proposal with a teacher or school employee as their team lead, and no experience is needed to enter. Sixty winning teams get money, a starter kit and mentoring to build their experiment, then a spot on a NASA-sponsored flight in summer 2027. **What you get:** - $1,500 for your school to buy the parts to build your experiment - A starter kit, including a flight box to build the experiment in - An assigned spot for your experiment on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flight in summer 2027 - Weekly virtual meetings, technical support and mentoring from Future Engineers advisors during the build - Your payload mailed back after the flight where the flight provider can recover it, so you can analyse your data **What you'll do:** - Form a team of at least four students from your school, with a teacher or school employee as team lead - Brainstorm and design an experiment for the balloon's conditions: thin air, radiation and views down to Earth and out to the horizon - Write a proposal using NASA's template; you do not build anything unless you win - If selected, build and code your experiment from January to May 2027, then ship it to Future Engineers for launch **Key dates:** - Challenge opened September 3, 2026 - Entries close November 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time - Winners announced and build begins January 19, 2027 - Experiment build must be finished by May 14, 2027 - Virtual winner showcase May 18, 2027 - Experiments mailed to Future Engineers by May 19, 2027 - Experiments launch in summer 2027 **More information:** - Full rules: https://festorage.blob.core.windows.net/nasatechrise2026/files/nasatechrise2026-ContestRules.pdf - FAQ: https://festorage.blob.core.windows.net/nasatechrise2026/files/nasatechrise2026-FAQ.pdf - NASA's own page on the challenge: https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/access-flight-tests/techrise/ - Questions about entering go to support@futureengineers.org

Apply for $1,500 NASA TechRise Student Challenge

NASACompetition

$1,500 NASA TechRise Student Challenge

Nov 02, 2026 23:59:00 PT
Opportunity type
Competition
Funding
Fully Funded
Location
United States
Deadline
Nov 02, 2026 23:59:00 PT

About this opportunity

NASA's Flight Opportunities program, with Future Engineers running the challenge, asks school teams of four or more students in grades 6 to 12 to design a science or technology experiment that could fly on a high-altitude balloon into Earth's upper atmosphere. Teams write a proposal with a teacher or school employee as their team lead, and no experience is needed to enter. Sixty winning teams get money, a starter kit and mentoring to build their experiment, then a spot on a NASA-sponsored flight in summer 2027.

What you get:

  • $1,500 for your school to buy the parts to build your experiment
  • A starter kit, including a flight box to build the experiment in
  • An assigned spot for your experiment on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon flight in summer 2027
  • Weekly virtual meetings, technical support and mentoring from Future Engineers advisors during the build
  • Your payload mailed back after the flight where the flight provider can recover it, so you can analyse your data

What you'll do:

  • Form a team of at least four students from your school, with a teacher or school employee as team lead
  • Brainstorm and design an experiment for the balloon's conditions: thin air, radiation and views down to Earth and out to the horizon
  • Write a proposal using NASA's template; you do not build anything unless you win
  • If selected, build and code your experiment from January to May 2027, then ship it to Future Engineers for launch

Key dates:

  • Challenge opened September 3, 2026
  • Entries close November 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time
  • Winners announced and build begins January 19, 2027
  • Experiment build must be finished by May 14, 2027
  • Virtual winner showcase May 18, 2027
  • Experiments mailed to Future Engineers by May 19, 2027
  • Experiments launch in summer 2027

More information:

  • Full rules: https://festorage.blob.core.windows.net/nasatechrise2026/files/nasatechrise2026-ContestRules.pdf
  • FAQ: https://festorage.blob.core.windows.net/nasatechrise2026/files/nasatechrise2026-FAQ.pdf
  • NASA's own page on the challenge: https://www.nasa.gov/stmd-flight-opportunities/access-flight-tests/techrise/
  • Questions about entering go to support@futureengineers.org

Who can apply

  • Students in grades 6 to 12 at a US public, private or charter school, including Washington DC, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
  • A team of at least four students from the same school, with no maximum
  • A team lead who is a teacher or adult employee of the school, aged 18 or over and a legal US resident, who registers and submits the proposal
  • The school must hold liability insurance; proof is required from potential winners before the prize is awarded
  • Not open to Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Bureau of Indian Education schools, other federal schools, schools outside the US, independent homeschools, or afterschool programs not run by a school
  • The experiment idea must be the students' own work and must not be generated with AI tools
  • Schools may submit several unique proposals, but each school can win only one prize
  • Winning teams need parent or guardian consent forms for the build

AI Verification

✓ AI Verified

Our AI read the official sources and cross-checked the key facts. Here is what held up, and what it could not confirm.

We could not fully verify this organization or all of its details. Check it independently on the official website before you apply, and never share sensitive personal or financial information until you are sure a request is genuine.

82
LOT Verification ScoreSolid

Cross-checked 9 of 9 key facts

Confirmed Our best read Not stated

Good to know

  • +Your team's experiment flies on a NASA-sponsored high-altitude balloon
  • +Free, no experience needed: you write a proposal, and winners get a kit and weekly mentoring
  • +60 winning teams, with at least one per state and territory where entries allow

Worth checking yourself

  • !Your teacher (or another school employee) has to register and submit; you cannot enter alone
  • !Teams need at least four students from one US school, grades 6 to 12; homeschoolers and offsite clubs cannot enter
  • !The $1,500 goes to your school for parts, not to you
  • !Closes 2 November at 11:59 PM Pacific

Sources checked

NAnasa.govOfficialFUfutureengineers.orgApplyFEfestorage.blob.core.windows.netOfficialFEfestorage.blob.core.windows.netOfficialFUfutureengineers.orgApplyNAnasa.govOfficial

LOT finds and checks opportunities from public sources. Always confirm details on the organiser’s own page before applying.

$1,500 NASA TechRise Student Challenge
Nov 02, 2026 23:59:00 PT