NSS Space Settlement Contest

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Image by Julius H. from Pixabay

The National Space Society (NSS) has announced its sixth Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime competition. To compete you only need to (1) be a student, academician, entrepreneur, or member of the broader space community – which is pretty broad – and (2) develop a business plans that will help to enable space settlement in the coming decades. Award-winning plans can win between $6,000 and $16,000.

Entries are due by February 15, 2026. If you are among the three finalists, you will be invited to the NSS annual International Space Development Conference in McLean, Virginia, which is held from June 4-7, 2026.

Here is some information on the 2025 winners if you need some ideas:

The first place award went to Anjan Balakrishnan and Nicholas Iraj Baumann of Georgetown University for their plan called Radiation Protection Solutions, an advanced, sandwiched design for radiation shielding for deep space missions. Second place went to Dr. Richard Nederlander and his team from Spargo Space Corp., featuring a business plan for orbital propellant depots. Third place went to Trent Tresch for his plan called StratoLabs, a self-contained, high-altitude balloon kit for independent aeronauts and researchers.

For more details on the competition, click here.

Pic of the Week: Student-Designed Artemis II Posters

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Mingyi Gan.

The above image is one of 24 winning posters designed by students at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City. The contest, sponsored by SVA and NASA, is called The Artemis II/Earthrise Poster Project.

All of the posters will be on display next month at the SVA Gramercy Gallery located at 209 East 23rd Street, 1st floor, New York, NY 10010.

You can learn more about the event and view more of these creative posters at this link.

2025 International Mars Society Convention

Posted on by onespaceman2000

It is time to mark your calendar for the Mars Society’s 2025 International Mars Society Convention scheduled for October 9–11 at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The theme this year is “Mars: The Time Has Come!”

If you want to learn more about past conventions to see if this is something for you, check out this link.

Some of the guests at last year’s convention included:

  • Tiffany M. Morgan, Deputy Director of the Mars Exploration Program in NASA’s Science Directorate, who will give an address about “Exploring Mars Together, DRAFT Plan for a Sustainable Future for Science at Mars.”
  • Howard Hu, the Orion Program Director at NASA, who will give an address about “NASA’s Artemis plans for returning to the Moon and beyond,”
  • Brig. General (Ret.) Dr. S. Pete Worden, Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, who will give an address about “Life in the Universe and Private Sector Space Science Initiatives.”
  • Dr. Alan Stern, a renowned planetary scientist and commercial astronaut, who will give an address about “The Other Red Planet” focusing on Pluto.

If you are interested, you can register for this year’s convention here.

Also, if you have any ideas for the design of this promotional poster for the 2025 convention visit this site for more information.

Pic of the Week: The Best of 2024

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Odysseus Leaves Earth. (Intuitive Machines)

This week’s image is the best space exploration image winner in The Planetary Society’s Best of 2024 contest. It shows the Odysseus lunar lander, launched on February 15, leaving the Earth behind as it travels to the Moon. You can read more about the lunar mission to the lunar South Pole by visiting this NASA mission page.

Visit The Planetary Society for more on the Best of 2024 winners, including the most exciting upcoming planetary science mission. I won’t spoil the news. You can read about it yourself.

Do You Have Some Ideas for Lunar or Martian Art?

Posted on by onespaceman2000
mage (Credit): AI image of a Martian colony. (Yol Gezer from Pixabay)

Do you have some time on your hands? If so, you may want to toss in a submission to the Moon to Mars contest being held by NASA.

Starting this week through October 31, you can submit your artistic interpretation of two topics: “Sustained Lunar Evolution” and “Humans to Mars.” The artist with the best image can win $10,000.

In terms of two categories, more definition from NASA is provided below.

Sustained Lunar Evolution Segment: This segment is an open canvas for exploration of the Moon, embracing new ideas, systems, and partners to grow to a long-term presence on the lunar surface. Sustained lunar evolution means more astronauts on the Moon for longer periods of time, increased opportunities for science, and even the large-scale production of goods and services derived from lunar resources. It also means increased cooperation and collaboration with international partners and the aerospace industry to build a robust lunar economy.

Humans to Mars Segment: This segment will see the first human missions to Mars, building on the lessons we learn from exploring the Moon. These early missions will focus on Martian exploration and establishing the foundation for a sustained Mars presence. NASA architects are examining a wide variety of options for transportation, habitation, power generation, in-situ resource utilization, scientific investigations, and more. How many missions would it take? How many astronauts? What sorts of technologies?

You can learn more about the contest here.

Just in case you were wondering, AI art cannot be submitted. So don’t try to submit something like the image above, nice as it is.