International college students dreaming of area exploration and artistic stardom—NASA simply opened the hatch to an inspiring alternative! In collaboration with Space Center Houston, NASA invites college students enrolled in U.S. K-12 colleges for the 2025–2026 tutorial 12 months to design the official mission patch for its subsequent Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) Campaign 8.
What is HERA?
The Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) is a specialised, two-and-a-half story habitat at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. This excessive-tech simulator mimics the isolation, stress, and confinement astronauts will face on deep area missions. Inside, 4 crew members reside and work for 45 days in a managed mock mission to the Moon—with out ever leaving Earth.
Their mission? To assist NASA perceive how lengthy-period area journey impacts the whole lot from sleep patterns and teamwork to psychological well being and resolution-making. Think of it as NASA’s human testbed for Mars, the Moon, and past.
The Challenge
NASA is asking younger visionaries to design a marketing campaign patch that represents the essence and scientific objectives of HERA Campaign 8. Your design may find yourself displayed on the HERA facility itself throughout all 4 missions scheduled between 2026 and 2027!
Whether you’re enthusiastic about artwork, science, or area, this problem gives a uncommon probability to merge creativity with exploration.
Who Can Enter?
- Open to private and non-private faculty college students within the United States
- Must be in grades Ok–12 throughout the 2025–2026 faculty 12 months
- One entry per pupil or class venture
- Age Categories: Grades Ok–4, Grades 5–8, and Grades 9–12.
Prizes
- Winners from every age class will obtain a digital tour of the HERA facility
- The grand prize winner will collaborate with a NASA graphic designer to refine their patch, which can then be displayed on HERA all through Campaign 8
Design Themes to Explore
Your patch ought to creatively mirror themes from Campaign 8, corresponding to:
- Crew autonomy with restricted communication
- Psychological and bodily results of isolation
- Multicultural teamwork in area
- Sleep high quality and cognitive efficiency in confined settings
NASA encourages you to have a look at earlier mission patches for inspiration, together with these for Artemis II, the Orion spacecraft, and previous HERA campaigns.
Submission Deadline
The final date to submit your patch design for NASA’s HERA Campaign 8 is Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
Apply: https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/students-design-nasas-next-hera-campaign-patch/.
NASA Next Mission Patch for Moon Open Challenge for K-12 Students FULLY FUNDED SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
