NSS AND NASA AMES SPACE SETTLEMENT CONTEST

The contest is for all students up to 12th grade from anywhere in the world. Contest categories are- ​​​​​​​

1. 7th grade and younger: individual, small group, large group,
2. 8th grade: individual, small group, large group,
3. 9th grade: individual, small group, large group,
4. 10th grade: individual, small group, large group,
5. 11th grade: individual, small group, large group,
6. 12th grade: individual, small group, large group.

Stated amount: 419,850

1. Participant certificates will be distributed in pdf form. You will get a link to this certificate when you submit your entry.
2. Winner certificates, also in pdf format, will include the names of the students. These should arrive via email by late August. The registered user email address will be used.
3. The best submission, regardless of category, wins the grand prize. The highest-ranking attending entry will receive the Herman Rubin Award of $5,000 (INR 4,19, 850) and give a plenary talk at one of the conference's signature events. No. of scholarships is subject to availability, please visit official website.

The registration fee has been increased to $15 (INR 1, 258), which can be waived in hardship cases. You can register here through the Award Force platform to enable entry submission. If you have participated in the past your previous login ID and password should still work. ​​​​​​​Rules-

1. Submissions must relate to free space settlements. Settlements may not be on a planet or moon, although support activities such as mining may be. Settlements must be permanent homes, not temporary work camps. Submissions may focus on one or a few aspects of space settlement and supporting systems, including mines, activities leading up to settlement (such as space hotels), economic and social issues, etc.
2. Designs, original research, essays, stories, models, artwork or any other orbital space settlement related materials may be submitted.
3. Submissions should not be longer than 50 pages unless it is essential to explain the work. The project must consist of 1-10 pdf or jpg files (usually just one). Each may be no larger than 24 MB.
4. Submissions will be made electronically.
5. The submission must be the student's own work. Plagiarism is forbidden. No part of an entry may copy with one exception: You may quote short passages, but only if the material is surrounded in double quotes and the source indicated. For example: "This material copied from somewhere," My Favorite Space Book. Quoted materials should rarely be more than a few lines, and never longer than a few paragraphs. Quoting long passages is forbidden. Entries caught plagiarizing, even one part of a large entry, will be disqualified and disposed of. ​​​​​​​For further details, please click here.

1. Instructors, mentors or parents may assist the student by presenting relevant resources, discussing core concepts and suggesting minor edits, but the work itself must be entirely student produced.
2. All entries that are not excluded for plagiarism will be judged by one or more judges on their merits. Once the judges submit their scores on a particular entry, the judges’ scores cannot be changed. All decisions by the judges are final. The judges’ decisions cannot be challenged in any way by any contestant. By submitting your entry, you agree that you cannot and will not contest the judges’ decisions in any way. Other Info The National Space Society (NSS) invites all contest participants to attend the NSS International Space Development Conference (ISDC). Every year, hundreds of contestants attend, along with their parents, teachers, siblings, and friends. Special activities for contestants are planned, including:
3. The highest-ranking winners attending will be invited to give oral presentations as time is available.
4. To the extent space is available; all contestants who attend will be invited to display a poster of their work.
5. Special sessions are arranged for contestants, teachers, parents, etc.