NASA TechRise Student Challenge- A Free NASA challenge that invites sixth through 12th-grade students to propose experiment ideas to fly on suborbital test flights for a chance to win $1500, technical mentorship, and a spot on a NASA-sponsored flight to test their experiment. Our team would like to invite you and members of your community to volunteer to help judge student proposals. I have included information regarding the judging requirements, how to sign up, and the challenge summary below.
Similar to Morrill Engineering Program, we strive to ensure that youth have the opportunity to expand their horizons through hands-on learning and innovation. We hope you consider volunteering (and sharing the volunteer opportunity with your community) to help judge the NASA TechRise Student Challenge to further that mission.
Thank you so much for your time and support! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Bria, Taylor and the NASA TechRise team
Volunteer to Judge The NASA TechRise Student Challenge
Requirements and Volunteer Hours:
NASA is inviting 18+ U.S. residents with expertise in engineering, space, and/or atmospheric research to volunteer to help judge the NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Volunteers willing to offer approximately five hours of time to review proposals for suborbital-spaceship and high-altitude balloon experiments between November 7 and November 14, 2025 can get involved by following the steps below.
How To Volunteer:
1. Register to Judge HERE
2. Login to your Judge Dashboard HERE
3. From your Judge Dashboard, go to the NASA TechRise Student Challenge card and click “Volunteer to Judge” -See help article for assistance.
4. Return to your dashboard on November 7th (we’ll send you an email reminder) to begin getting your scoresheet and begin judging. Scoresheets will be open Nov 7th-14th.
About the NASA TechRise Student Challenge:
NASA is calling on middle and high school students to join the fifth NASA TechRise Student Challenge, which invites student teams to submit science and technology experiment ideas to fly on a commercial suborbital-spaceship or high-altitude balloon. Students in sixth to 12th grades attending a U.S. public, private, or charter school – including those in U.S. territories – are challenged to team up with their schoolmates to design an experiment under the guidance of an educator. Administered by Future Engineers, the challenge offers participants hands-on insight into the payload design and suborbital flight test process, with the goal of developing critical skills in engineering, computing, electronics and more that will be required for America’s technical workforce. The challenge opens in September and teams should submit their experiment ideas by the challenge deadline on November 3, 2025.
A total of 60 winning teams will be selected to build their proposed experiment. Each winning