NASA EXPRESS -- Your STEM Connection for July 9, 2026

Check out NASA's latest STEM opportunities and learning resources.

NASA STEM Engagement Outdoor Fun With NASA STEM Summer is here! Get outside and explore STEM with fun, hands-on NASA activities. Use Energy From the Sun to Make S'mores Learn About Clouds and Make a Mobile Make Cookies to Match the Moon Phase Make a Scale Model of the Solar System Collect Data for a Citizen Science Project Keep a Journal to Explore Nature Visit the NASA STEM Search to find more activities and resources. Deadline Approaching! Send Your Name One Million Miles Away Don't miss your chance to send your name to space! Scheduled to launch Aug. 30, NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will embark on a mission to study dark energy, exoplanets, and astrophysics. And your name can go along for the ride. Sign up to have your name uploaded to an SD card that will be attached to the observatory for its journey to a point one million miles away from Earth. The submission period closes Sunday, July 12. Higher Education Opportunities Call for Proposals: Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology Proposal Deadline: Tuesday, July 14 Contact: HQ-FINESST@mail.nasa.gov   NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) seeks proposals from accredited U.S. universities or other grant-eligible organizations for research grants to begin no earlier than 2027. Each proposal must identify a graduate student as a future investigator. Projects must contribute to SMD’s science, technology, and exploration goals. Proposals may request funding for up to three years.   For full details and proposal requirements, visit the FINESST website and read the document starting with “F.5.” NASA TechLeap Prize – Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge Registration Deadline: Wednesday, July 29 Application Deadline: Wednesday, Aug. 12 Contact: hello@nasatechleap.org   Managed by NASA's Flight Opportunities program, this challenge aims to advance persistent infrastructure for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing. Applicants are invited to propose payloads that can interact with, be manipulated by, or be reconfigured by a robotic arm in low Earth orbit.   Up to three winners will be selected, with the opportunity to win up to $500,000 each across three phases. NASA intends to fly these payloads aboard an orbital spacecraft that will rendezvous with the Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) platform. The FFR mission is expected to launch in late 2027, and the TechLeap payloads are slated to launch in early 2028. Visit the challenge website to read the application requirements, rules, technical guidelines, and scoring rubric that will be used to assess all valid applications. Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table Registration Deadline: Friday, July 31 Entry Deadline: Friday, Aug. 14 Contact: hq-stmd-centennialchallenges@mail.nasa.gov   As NASA plans for deep space missions that could last months or years, new ways to feed astronauts that are independent of Earth must be developed. The Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table is a global competition inviting chefs, innovators, culinary experts, higher-education students, and citizen scientists to design a complete, Earth-independent food system for long-duration space missions.   U.S. participants will compete for part of a prize purse of up to $750,000 from NASA. International teams are also eligible to participate and receive recognition. Click here to learn more. More to Explore Helio and You: July 2026 Newsletter – Heliophysics as an American Endeavor   Scientific achievement has been a part of the American identity for as long as that identity has existed. Heliophysics is an important cornerstone of the history of astronomy, and many of the pioneers in this field have been from the United States.   The latest “Helio and You” newsletter celebrates 250 years of scientific discovery by highlighting some of the American heliophysics pioneers who have helped shape their field from its earliest days.   Click here to read more and explore related educational resources. Partner Opportunities Unplugged STEM: K-12 Teacher Lesson Plan Competition Entry Deadline: Friday, Aug. 14 Save the Date:  World Space Week 2026 Event Dates: Oct. 4 - 10 Create Virtual Field Trips: Infiniscope Self-Paced "Tour It" Training Available On Demand Want to subscribe to get this message delivered to your inbox each Thursday? Sign up for the NASA EXPRESS newsletter at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/nasa-express. Are you looking for NASA STEM materials? Search hundreds of resources at https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/search. Check out the ‘Science for Everyone’ website! Science starts with questions, leading to discoveries. Visit https://science.nasa.gov/for-everyone. To view the site in Spanish, visit https://ciencia.nasa.gov. Are you looking for more NASA prizes, challenges, and crowdsourcing opportunities? Visit https://www.nasa.gov/get-involved/ to find ways to contribute to NASA’s work. 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