On May 10, the Your Place in Space Challenge team hosted a virtual information session to provide an overview of the challenge and answer questions. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and NASA discussed how the challenge will help build a robust space industry workforce while supporting the Department’s work to prepare high school students for rewarding careers and increase access to career and technical education.
Watch the session recording and continue reading for highlights from the event.
Preparing CTE students for rewarding careers
The Your Place in Space Challenge is a CTE Momentum challenge to create new solutions for space and inspire students to envision and pursue careers in the space industry. By inviting high school CTE students to submit designs for a product or service that contributes to space missions or exploration, the challenge will help students identify pathways into space careers.
“This series builds on prior prize competitions led by the Department, which have focused on increasing CTE access — because we know that CTE is an effective way to prepare students for the workforce.”
Jenny Lambert
Education Program Specialist, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education
Helping students understand the range of space industry careers
Space is an integral part of the American economy. Today, the space industry employs hundreds of thousands of people and generates hundreds of billions of dollars in economic value. The work that takes place in space is vital to life on our planet, from understanding the Earth and its climate to facilitating navigation and connectivity. While mainstream representations of space careers tend to focus on astronauts and rocket scientists, there is a wide variety of careers in the space industry. The Your Place in Space Challenge will help inspire high school students to explore the range of space careers.
“Many students likely don’t know what careers are out there, and thereby can’t envision how their skills may translate into the exciting work we do in space.”
Kris Brown
Deputy Associate Administrator, NASA Office of STEM Engagement
Review questions and answers from the information session
The challenge team has compiled a list of questions and answers from the information session based on those submitted via the event registration form, through the challenge inbox, or during the live session. Teachers can review the Q&A to learn more about the challenge as they plan their submissions.
Submissions due October 30: Start planning now
As they prepare to bring the Your Place in Space Challenge to classrooms, teachers are encouraged to read more about the challenge and explore the curated resources for inspiration. Teachers can also review the selection criteria and submission form. Submissions are due by 6:00 p.m. ET on October 30, 2023.
To receive updates about challenge launches and other series news, sign up for the CTE Momentum newsletter.