NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate Space Grant Program Funding Opportunities

Past Student Award Recipients
Download the information sheets (and detailed project descriptions) distributed to senior design

Wyoming Space Grant Consortium (WSGC) has received funding from NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) to support primarily engineering students in research and design areas related to space exploration.

There are two areas this funding will be applied to:

1. Senior Design Projects and Senior design participation in National Design Competitions that include ESMD-relevant research and design areas**
2. Paid student internships at NASA Centers or at ESMD-related industry that contain ESMD-relevant experience**

There will also be a national program for university/college faculty: The ESMD Space Grant Faculty Project.

**ESMD-relevant design, engineering, and research areas include the following categories:

• Spacecraft – Guidance, navigation and control; thermal; electrical; structures; software; avionics; high speed re-entry; modeling; power systems; interoperability/commonality; advanced spacecraft materials; crew/vehicle health monitoring; life support.
• Propulsion – Propulsion methods that will utilize materials found on the moon or Mars, "green" propellants, on-orbit propellant storage, motors, testing, fuels, manufacturing, soft landing, throttleable propellants, high performance, and descent.
• Lunar and Planetary Surface Systems – Precision landing hardware, software, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), navigation systems, extended surface operations, robotics, environmental analysis, radiation protection, spacesuits, life support, power systems.
• Ground Operations – Pre-launch, launch, mission operations, command and control software systems, communications, landing and recovery.

WSGC will be working with the UW College of Engineering to determine the timing and best way to distribute these funds to UW students. Community college student groups wishing to participate in the national design competitions, please contact the WSGC office. NASA internships are generally open to students completing their sophomore through senior years, or first-second year graduate students. Some NASA internship programs will accept community college students after their second year of study, especially if they will be transferring to a 4-year institution to complete their bachelor's degree.

Any student (or student group) considering applying for ESMD funding should read this document first: Student Information: ESMD Space Grant Educational Projects
Then, if you have any questions, please contact the WSGC office.

Senior Design Projects

Funds, of up to $2000 per student design group, can be used to support student senior engineering design projects (i.e., to buy materials, build prototypes, etc.) or to bring in subject matter experts to consult with the students.

Suggestions for senior design projects are available on the ESMD Space Grant Project (Senior Design Project) Website ("printer friendly" version of this list: PDF, MS Word, MS Excel) -- Please contact the WSGC office if you are interested in any of these design projects. Projects not on this list of "approved" projects will need to receive approval before funds can be distributed - however all projects will need to address ESMD objectives.
Information sheet, and detailed project descriptions, distributed to senior design classes.

National Design Competitions

This support is currently limited to senior design group participation in any National Design Competitions related to ESMD objectives. Some support for students participants at other levels of undergraduate studies (including community college students), graduate students, and high school students may be available through regular Space Grant programs, please contact the Space Grant Office for more information.

The support of up to $2000 per student team can be used to buy materials, attend pre-challenge workshops, or travel to competition sites. [Support beyond this $2000 can be made available to student groups participating in national design competitions (i.e., to cover travel to the competition site) through the WSGC Undergraduate Fellowship Program (application deadline in mid-February).]

A few relevant national design competitions (this is not an exhaustive list, contact WSGC office if you know of other competitions and would like to know if they qualify for this funding). Many competitions offer cash prizes.

Eligibility

• Group projects are preferred, however individual projects may be considered in special circumstances.
• All group members must be U.S. citizens.
• Students must be enrolled in UW senior design courses, and begin design work sometime during the 2007-2008 school year (starting in either the Fall 2007 or Spring 2008 semester is acceptable).
• Projects must be relevant to ESMD research objectives**
• Projects must be approved by the ESMD (once they are approved by WSGC, we have to pass along a brief description to the ESMD for final approval, in 2006-2007 the projects that were deemed appropriate by WSGC were eventually approved by the ESMD).

Expectations for Students

WSGC Expectations:

• Each student group is expected to keep WSGC informed of their progress (this can include copies of written reports, and/or invitations to sit in on review meetings).
• A final report on the project is expected (electronic and hardcopy).
• WSGC would like to receive pictures of your group members working on your project for use in reporting to NASA, newsletters, and other publicity. (Feel free to take pictures on your own and send them to WSGC, or we will be happy to come out and take photographs ourselves if invited).
• WSGC is required by NASA to keep in touch with all awardees of significant programs at least until they receive their first job after receiving their highest degree. If you receive support through this program, expect to keep in touch with WSGC for some time after the completion of your project (minimum info we'll need is an updated e-mail address so we can contact you if required).

ESMD Expectations:

• The ESMD gets the final say whether or not a project will receive funding.
• ESMD Senior Design Project participants are encouraged to join the "ESMD Community of Practice" on the PBMA website to provide feedback, participate in the discussion threads, and collaborate with the entire ESMD Space Grant community.
• Please also refer to the Student Information: NASA ESMD Space Grant Educational Projects document - this document contains more information about the PBMA website and how to join).

To Apply for Senior Design or National Design Competition ESMD Support:

Any student (or student group) considering applying for ESMD funding should read this document first: Student Information: ESMD Space Grant Educational Projects (This document outlines the expectations from the ESMD for program participants). If you have any questions about these expectations, please contact the WSGC office.

Application for these funds will be coordinated with the senior design course instructors and can be incorporated into the course's design proposals. Additionally, the following information will need to be submitted to the WSGC office before funding will be considered:

• Each student will need to download and fill out a student data sheet (if working in a team, we will need a separate sheet for each member of the team): PDF*, MS Word
• Each student group will need to write up a short abstract and project description (1-3 pages -- please include a project budget as part of your proposal): PDF*, MS Word - be sure to include a description of why this project is of interest to NASA's ESMD!

* = you will need Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher to view these files.
Submit this information by e-mail attachment to: wsgc(at)uwyo.edu

There will be no formal application deadline, funds will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis to groups who's proposals are deemed reasonable by a review committee.

Internships

Internships related to ESMD objectives can be held at NASA Centers or at ESMD-related industry (i.e., Boeing, Ball Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, etc.). Positions vary in content, location, and timeframe (please see the individual project descriptions for details -- link below). ESMD funds will provide $6000 stipend (including travel allowance).

Eligibility:

• U.S. citizens (proof of citizenship will be required if selected).
• Age 18 or older.
• Community college, undergraduate, and graduate students are all eligible to apply.
• Minimum of 30 credit hours/45 quarter hours completed.
• Minimum GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale).
• Enrolled full-time in an accredited U.S. university, college, or community college.

Internship Opportunities:

Internships with NASA Centers:

• Students interested in ESMD-specific Internships must first go to: http://education.ksc.nasa.gov/esmdspacegrant/ESMD_Exploration_Internships.htm to find ESMD Internship opportunities (internship list is also available as: PDF, Excel - lists of requested majors for internship positions: PDF, MS Word) and the password to access the ESMD Intern Application. Then you can link to the ESMD Intern Application on the PBMA website at: https://secureworkgroups.grc.nasa.gov/esmd-spswg (Space Grant Program Internship Opportunities) -- submit one application form for a large number of internship positions. These positions are open to U.S. citizens that are community college, undergraduate, or graduate students.
  Application deadlines: October 1, 2007 (for Spring internships), January 28, 2008 (for Summer internships), and May 1, 2008 (for Fall internships).
  For complete instructions on how to apply for internships and the expectations for participants, please refer to the document: Student Information: ESMD Space Grant Educational Projects
• List of additional NASA internship opportunities -- please note that most internships have application deadlines in January 2008 for Summer 2008 placement. (Stipends for these programs vary from $3,500 to $5,000, plus travel, for a 10-week summer position.) Many of these internship positions are eligible for ESMD funding (particularly positions at the Jet Propulsion Lab, which runs a separate application process from other NASA centers).

Internships with Industry:

• WSGC will be offering ESMD summer 2008 internships with Firehole Technologies (located in Laramie, WY). We will post more information about these positions as they become available.
• If you have any ideas for internship placement with industry, please contact the WSGC office. WSGC is working on partnerships with nearby aerospace-related companies in order to provide more internship opportunities.

ESMD Space Grant Faculty Project

NASA's ESMD (Exploration Systems Mission Directorate) has partnered with the National Space Grant Consortia to offer ten university faculty an opportunity to spend a total of 5 weeks at a NASA Center. Here are some of the highlights:

• Spend 5 weeks at a NASA Center (ARC, DFRC, GRC, GSFC, JSC, JPL, KSC, LaRC, MSFC, or SSC)
• Program Dates: June 2 - July 2, 2008
• $7500 stipend plus travel allowance (JPL and ARC stipend $8500 due to locality)
• Collect information to help NASA and the Space Grant Consortia identify future ESMD-related internship opportunities and senior design courses
• All selected faculty will travel to KSC July 14-17, 2008 to consolidate agency findings
• All Applicants must be US citizen
• Deadline for application: January 23, 2008, 5:00pm EST (selections will be announced mid-February)
• To apply go to https://secureworkgroups.grc.nasa.gov/esmd-sg-fp. The community password is "ESMDFaculty". Click on "join" then Option "A". All applicants will need to create a unique username and password after the first sign in
• For more information on the Project go to http://education.ksc.nasa.gov/ESMDspacegrant/

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