Space Shuttle Thermal Protective Tiles Available for Educational UseNASA invites eligible U.S. educational institutions and museums to request space shuttle thermal protective tiles and other special items offered on a first-come, first-served basis while quantities last. Organizations previously allocated thermal protective tiles may request an additional three tiles.There will be a nominal shipping fee that must be paid online with a credit card. To make a request for special items online, visithttp://gsaxcess.gov/htm/nasa/userguide/Special_Item_Request_Procedure.pdf.Questions about this opportunity should be directed toGSAXcessHelp@gsa.gov.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2014-2015 FIRST Robotic CompetitionsThe FIRST Robotics Competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to create a robot designed to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe. Teams experience the entire engineering life cycle while building robots to compete in games that change every year. FIRST Robotics Competition teams are composed of high school students, with professional engineers acting as mentors. Additional FIRST programs are available for students of ages 6-18.FIRST is a national organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen in Manchester, New Hampshire, to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and technical fields.The FRC Kickoff, the official start of the FIRST Robotics Competition design-and-build season, is set forJan. 3, 2015. Teams have the opportunity to meet at local kickoff events to compare notes, get ideas, make friends, find mentoring teams, learn the game, pick up the Kit of Parts and get geared up for the exciting competition season. To find kickoff events in your area, visithttp://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc/kickoff.For more information about FIRST Robotics and to register your team to participate, visithttp://www.usfirst.org/.Questions about FIRST Robotics should be submitted viahttp://www.usfirst.org/contactform.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________2015 NASA and Worcester Polytechnic Institute Sample Return Robot ChallengeNASA and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts, are seeking teams to compete in a robot technology demonstration competition with a potential $1.5 million prize purse.During the Sample Return Robot Challenge, teams will compete to demonstrate a robot that can locate and retrieve geologic samples from a wide and varied terrain without human control. The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in automatic navigation and robotic manipulator technologies. Innovations stemming from this challenge may improve NASA's capability to explore a variety of destinations in space, as well as enhance the nation's robotic technology for use in industries and applications on Earth.The competition is planned for June 8-13, 2015, in Worcester, and is anticipated to attract hundreds of competitors from industry and academia nationwide.Registration is open untilJan. 6, 2015.For more information about the Sample Return Robot Challenge and to register online for the competition, visithttp://challenge.wpi.edu.The Centennial Challenges program is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, visithttp://www.nasa.gov/spacetech.Questions about the Sample Return Robot Challenge should be sent tochallenge@wpi.edu.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2015 NASA Human Exploration Rover ChallengeNASA has opened team registration for the 2015 NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Organized by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the event will be held April 16-18, 2015, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, also in Huntsville.The challenge engages high school, college and university students in hands-on, experiential learning activities, while also testing potential technologies needed for future deep space exploration. Both U.S. and international teams may register to participate. For U.S. teams, registration closesFeb. 6, 2015. Registration for international teams closesJan. 9, 2015.Student teams participating in the Rover Challenge must design, engineer and test a human-powered rover on a mock course designed to simulate the harsh and demanding terrains future NASA explorers may find on distant planets, moons and asteroids.For more information on the 2015 Human Exploration Rover Challenge and registration, visithttp://go.nasa.gov/14dikMF.

Follow the Rover Challenge on social media for the latest news and updates:https://www.facebook.com/roverchallenge?ref=hlhttps://twitter.com/RoverChallengehttp://instagram.com/nasa_marshall.

View images from the 2014 Rover Challenge athttp://go.nasa.gov/1iEjGRp.International teams with questions about this event or registration may email Amy McDowell atAmy.McDowell@nasa.gov. U.S. teams with questions may contact Diedra Williams atMSFC-RoverChallenge2015@mail.nasa.gov.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2015 RASC-AL Aerospace Concepts Design CompetitionNASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2015 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts-Academic Linkage, or RASC-AL, Aerospace Concepts competition. RASC-AL is a design project competition for university-level engineering students and faculty.The 2015 RASC-AL contest challenges participants to design projects based on real NASA problems, responding to one of four themes:-- Earth-Independent Mars Pioneering Architecture-- Earth-Independent Lunar Pioneering Architecture-- Mars' Moons Prospector Mission-- Large-Scale Mars Entry, Decent and Landing Pathfinder MissionConcepts derived from the design projects could potentially be implemented by NASA.Teams must submit an abstract for their proposed project byJan. 11, 2015. The RASC-AL Steering Committee of NASA and industry experts will evaluate the proposals and select as many as 11 undergraduate and five graduate teams to compete against each other at a forum in June 2015 in Florida.The RASC-AL competition is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university. University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. A group of universities may also collaborate on a design project entry. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.For more information about this competition, visithttp://nianet.org/RASCAL.If you have questions about this competition, please contact Stacy Dees atstacy.dees@nianet.orgor Shelley Spears atShelley.Spears@nianet.org.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2014-2015 NASA Goddard OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff ChallengeNASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is launching the 2014-2015 TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Challenge, hosted by the Innovative Technology Partnerships Office. The purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness of NASA's Technology Transfer Program and to inspire interest in all NASA missions, programs and projects.This year the scope of the contest is being expanded to include two challenges. In the first challenge, students in grades 3-12 are asked to submit a video describing their favorite NASA Goddard spinoff. In a new twist, participants in this years contest must also use the engineering design process to develop and propose a new spinoff application of their own for the technology. Spinoffs are technologies originally created for space and modified into everyday products used on Earth. Examples include memory foam, invisible braces and scratch-resistant lenses for eyeglasses.The second challenge, the TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME InWorld Challenge, offers students in grades 6-12 an opportunity to take their video spinoff ideas to another level. Interested teams must study James Webb Space Telescope spinoff technology and post their completed spinoff videos for review by college engineering students. Engineering college mentors will select 20 teams to continue the collaborative design process within a multiuser virtual world to build a 3-D model of the teams design solutions.Winning students from each grade category will be invited to Goddard to participate in a behind-the-scenes workshop, attend a VIP awards ceremony and meet actor Peter Cullen, the voice of OPTIMUS PRIME.The deadline to register and upload videos isJan. 12, 2015.For more information, visithttp://itpo.gsfc.nasa.gov/optimus/.Questions about this contest should be directed to Darryl Mitchell atDarryl.R.Mitchell@nasa.gov.TRANSFORMERS and OPTIMUS PRIME are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. 2014 Hasbro. All rights reserved.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Free Program -- Cubes in SpaceTMidoodlelearning is offering two flight opportunities as part of the Cubes in Space program. A free science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics, or STEAM, program for students ages 11-18, Cubes in Space provides opportunities for students to design and compete to launch experiments into space.In partnership with Colorado Space Grant Consortium as part of the RockSat-C program, experiments will be launched via a sounding rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Virginia, in late June 2015. This opportunity is open to U.S. and international students 11-14 years of age.Through partnership with NASA Langley Research Center, a second flight opportunity is offered on a zero-pressure scientific balloon to be launched from Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, in September 2015. The Science Missions Directorate Astrophysics division manages the NASA scientific balloon program; Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia oversees Balloon Flight Operations. This opportunity is open to students 11-18 years of age who are U.S. citizens.Using formal or informal learning environments, students and educators will learn about the methodology for taking an idea from design through the review process. Throughout the experience, students will acquire key 21st century skills necessary for success in a highly connected, global society.The deadline for program registration isJan. 12, 2015.For more information, visithttp://www.CubesInSpace.com.Questions about this program should be directed toinfo@cubesinspace.com.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Apply for the 2015 Summer NASA Academies -- WebinarThe NASA Minority Innovation Challenges Institute, or MICI, is hosting a special webinar onJan. 15, 2015, at 3 p.m. EST, which will provide undergraduate students details on how they can apply for admission into a 2015 NASA Summer Academy. The NASA Academy is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. summer research internship program. It is a rigorous, immersive 10-week experience that will challenge the participants and push them outside their comfort zones. It offers interns an intense learning experience. The NASA Academies at NASA centers have different areas of focus, including space, aerospace, robotics, aeronautics and propulsion.The NASA Academy curriculum combines a valuable research experience with a residential leadership development experience. Academy participants, known as research associates, or RAs, spend four days per week working full time on an individual research project with a NASA scientist or engineer, called their principal investigator. These projects offer a challenging learning experience in which the RAs do hands-on research side by side with their mentors. Projects are typically cutting-edge topics that teach the RAs about the latest in NASA research and development. The RAs demonstrate the progress of their research in the annual Intern Poster Expo. The academies conclude with final oral presentations and a graduate ceremony.To sign up for this webinar, and gain access to MICI's other free webinars, visithttp://nasamici.com/upcoming-sessions.Questions about this opportunity should be directed to Mary Baker atmary@nasamici.com.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NASA's ESTEEM "Ask US" Online Professional Development SeriesNASA's Minority University Research and Education Program, or MUREP, is sponsoring a series of Google Plus Hangout professional development events for K-12 educators. The Earth Systems, Technology and Energy Education for MUREP, or ESTEEM, team will lead monthly sessions covering a variety of climate topics. This month's webinar topic is:Communicating Climate Change: Mind the Gap -- Jan. 15, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. ESTAlthough 97 percent of active climate scientists agree that the earth is warming due to human activities, some polls have found that only 44 percent of Americans share this view. As an educator, you are likely to encounter people who have received information that conflicts with the accepted climate science. This session will help you better understand Americans' perceptions of climate change and provide tips for better communicating climate science.Certificates of professional development hours are available upon request.For more information on this event and upcoming webinar sessions, visithttps://nice.larc.nasa.gov/asknice/. Questions about this series should be sent to Bonnie Murray atbonnie.murray@nasa.gov.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 30, 2014