TERRAHEART Project Once again Includes Winning Art in Launch to Space

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 30, 2013) -- Digital images of artwork honored by the Space Foundation International Student Art Contest will travel to space this summer and take up residence aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Japanese program called TERRAHEART, which sends student art, poetry and writings into space. This is the second time TERRAHEART has invited the Space Foundation to send student art and the first time the art will travel to the ISS aboard a Japanese rocket. A DVD of the images will be launched by HIIB this summer from JAXA Tanegashima Space Center, in the southern part of Japan.

The Space Foundation 2013 International Student Art Contest invited students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade from around the world to submit original artwork depicting the theme If I were Going ... , resulting in more than 4,700 entries representing 45 countries, including 38 U.S. states and territories - the largest response since the contest began three years ago. Thirty-six works of art were recognized and displayed at the recent 29th National Space Symposium, held April 8-11 in Colorado Springs.

About TERRAHEART

The TERRAHEART project works with teachers in schools and other educational institutions in Japan to stimulate discussion about the future in the context of space. Through classroom activities and interconnected websites, the project explores:

* What kinds of support do we need to help children develop and nurture their powers to live as good inhabitants of the Earth?

* For each stage of their development, how can we strengthen the links between children, their inner selves, other human beings and nature - the Earth or the universe? The connection between the Space Foundation and TERRAHEART was made by the Japan Space Forum (JSF), which coordinates an alliance of industry, government and academia for the development of Japan's aerospace industry. Operating under policies established by the Japanese government, JSF supports research proposals and implements programs to educate and enlighten the public about the aerospace industry as well as provide for the exchange and development of human resources. Space Foundation International Student Art Contest Winners Represent 12 Countries The winners of the Space Foundation International Student Art Contest, whose artwork will travel to space (organized by state and school), are:

UNITED STATES California

D-DIM Academy, Buena Park Junsu Lee, Grand Prize, 6th-8th grade; 1st Place, 6th-8th grade painting & mixed media Julie Moon, 3rd Place, 6th-8th grade painting & mixed media EDU After School, San Diego Daniel Tsivkovski, 2nd Place, Pre-K-2nd grade painting & mixed media Elite Art Academy, Palo Alto Kathleen Xue, Grand Prize, 9th-12th grade; 1st Place, 9th-12th grade drawing; Space Foundation

Achievement Award Meyerholz Elementary School, San Jose Poem Shiuey, Grand Prize, Pre-K-2nd grade; 1st Place, Pre-K-2nd grade painting & mixed media The Mirman School, Los Angeles Bryan Montenegro, 2nd Place, 3rd-5th grade digital St. James Episcopal School, Los Angeles Edwin SJ Nah, 2nd Place, 6th-8th grade painting & mixed media

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Space Foundation Student Art Headed for the International Space Station