Your Place In Space Challenge Virtual Information Session

Learn more about the Your Place in Space Challenge at the May 10 virtual information session. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Education and NASA will present an in-depth overview of the challenge and answer questions. Questions can be submitted in advance through the registration form. A video recording and summary of questions and answers will be published following the session.

The Your Place in Space Challenge is a CTE Momentum challenge to create new solutions for space. The U.S. Department of Education invites high schools to submit entries that demonstrate a product or service that will contribute to space missions and exploration.

In the five decades since astronauts first walked on the Moon, space has become an important 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. Activities in space are critical to life on Earth — powering navigation, connectivity, logistics, agricultural management, security, and more. Our continued exploration of space also inspires wonder, discovery, and technological advancement.

Space careers promise higher-than-average wages and strong growth expectations over the coming decades. Yet private-sector and public-sector entities already struggle to fill critical roles, from engineers and technicians to machinists and communications professionals. The space industry is expected to triple in size over the next 30 years, employing over 1.5 million people and generating $780 billion in economic activity by 2050 — but without a skilled workforce, that vision will never become a reality.

Although astronauts attract significant public attention, the vast majority of people who make space missions and space exploration possible perform their jobs on Earth. Space missions are a team sport: Trainers prepare astronauts for the physical demands of space flight; welders manufacture spacecraft; chefs design menus and prepare food; data scientists analyze Earth observation data; botanists create methods to grow plants in microgravity. Almost any career can be a space career.