NASA EXPRESS -- Your STEM Connection for Oct. 29, 2026

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

NASA STEM Engagement Celebrate Halloween With NASA Carve a pumpkin like a NASA engineer, use Halloween candy for hands-on learning, and discover mysterious locations throughout the solar system and beyond. Put on your geologist hat and use Halloween candy for a fun and tasty Candy Bar Geology activity. Take your pumpkin-carving creativity into orbit with NASA-themed templates and stencils. Visit the Universe of Monsters to see which exoplanets share traits with ghastly ghouls. Decorate your space with downloadable Galaxy of Horrors posters, if you dare! Journey through the Sinister Solar System to explore mysterious sights and spine-tingling sounds. Test your knowledge of strange and mysterious objects in the universe with the Kahoot! NASA Quiz of Cosmic Frights. Visit the NASA STEM Search to find more activities and resources. Online Learning Opportunities Celebrate National STEM Day With a Special Space Station Downlink With Crunch Labs' Mark Rober Event Date: Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 11 a.m. EST Contact: JSC-Downlinks@mail.nasa.gov   Tune in for a special downlink featuring NASA astronaut Anil Menon and STEM innovator and CrunchLabs founder Mark Rober. From his post aboard the International Space Station, Menon will answer questions from students about life and work in microgravity, the path to becoming an astronaut, and technologies that make human spaceflight possible. Rober will join from CrunchLab headquarters in California to share how curiosity, creativity, and hands-on problem solving shaped his career from NASA engineer to STEM creator. Watch the event live on the NASA YouTube Channel.   Would your school, community college, university, or organization be interested hosting a downlink? Visit the In-Flight STEM Downlinks website to learn how. Virtual Event: NASA’s Career Technical Education Day at Glenn Research Center Registration Deadline: Friday, Nov. 6 Event Date: Friday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. EST Contact: hq-virtual-engagements@mail.nasa.gov   Join experts from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, for a live virtual session featuring hands-on technical careers that support NASA's mission to the Moon and beyond!   Students interested in high-tech manufacturing, precision engineering, skilled trades, applied STEM programs, or technical careers are encouraged to attend. Participants will hear directly from skilled trades experts as they share their career journeys, describe their typical workdays, and highlight the diverse pathways available to students interested in technical careers at NASA.   Registration is open to individual students. Teachers can also register their class to attend as a group. Click here for event and registration details. Are You Up for a Challenge? Student Challenge: NASA ORBIT Registration Deadline: Monday, Nov. 16 Contact: explore@nasaorbit.org   NASA’s Opportunities in Research, Business, Innovation, and Technology (ORBIT) challenge is a multiphase innovation competition designed to empower university and college students to develop next-generation solutions that benefit life on Earth and in space.   Teams can choose from two challenge tracks: ● ORBIT Earth: Transform NASA patents into commercial products that solve problems on our home planet. ● ORBIT Space: Design next-generation technologies for space exploration.   Teams can also choose to bridge both tracks for additional award opportunities with the optional Integration Bonus. NASA ORBIT directly advances NASA missions and prepares tomorrow’s aerospace workforce while equipping students with essential technical, entrepreneurial, and career skills.   Click here for full challenge descriptions and requirements. More to Explore NASA Citizen Science Project: Cloudspotting on Mars   Clouds are both drivers and products of Earth’s climate, but how does this work on Mars? With just a smartphone or computer, you can join NASA in the search for exotic Martian clouds and help unlock secrets of the Red Planet’s atmosphere. Click here to learn how you can look for the telltale pattern of clouds in graphed data collected by the Mars Climate Sounder, an instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Partner Opportunities Spooky Sanctuaries: Thirteen Dives of Halloween With NOAA Available Now, If You Dare Smithsonian's Bezos Science and Technology Challenge for Students Registration Deadline: Friday, Oct. 30 2027 LPI Summer Intern Program in Planetary Science Application Deadline: Monday, Dec. 14 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. Share This Email Share This Email Share This Email NASA Office of STEM Engagement We are engaging students in NASA’s exciting missions, broad range of careers, and unique opportunities. Visit nasa.gov/learning-resources/  Follow Us on Social Media The National Aeronautics and Space Administration As explorers, pioneers, and innovators, we boldly expand frontiers in air and space to inspire and serve America and to benefit the quality of life on Earth. Visit nasa.gov Follow NASA

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