NDSGC January Updates
NDSGC Announcements & Updates
Happy New Year!
What’s new?
🚀 This Month at NDSGC
• Save the Date: 2026 Affiliates Meeting
• NEW: Earth Cup Race 1 (Global Space Competition)
• Applications Open: STEM Scholarships & Industry Internships
• NASA Summer 2026 Internships Timeline
!HIGH-ALERT UPDATES!
SAVE THE DATE!
North Dakota Space Grant Consortium’s Affiliates Meeting
- Mark your calendars! The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium is thrilled to announce that the official date for the annual statewide Affiliates Meeting has been announced. This meeting is open to staff/faculty affiliate representatives, recent and current awardees, and participants in NDSGC programming (e.g., NASA interns, Research Fellows, Industry Interns, STEM Ambassadors, Grant recipients, etc.). The NDSGC strongly encourages prospective students and affiliate representatives interested in learning more about the NDSGC and NASA opportunities to attend, along with other interested colleagues.
- Registration information will be available in Spring 2026.
- Location: North Dakota’s Gateway to Science in Bismarck, ND.
- When: Friday, April 24, 2026.
- Any questions? Feel free to reach out! NDSGC Team.
- We hope to see you there!
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE!
Future City Middle School for 2025-2026:
- The Orbital Edge Accelerator seeks to identify and support the most promising and ambitious business builders. Up to six companies will be selected for the inaugural cohort of the OEA, a months-long program helping innovators convert their visions of the space industry into reality. The program will offer access to exclusive networks such as networks formed by space investors, the ISS National Laboratory®, and more! Including a sponsored launch and astronaut time!
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- Want to know more? Don’t wait, click here! Link: Information
- Ready to join? Register now! Link: Register
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NDSGC Opportunities
Opportunities facilitated by the NDSGC
COLLEGE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
2025-2026 STEM Scholarships:
- The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium is now accepting applications for the 2025-2026 scholarship program! The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium supports several prestigious scholarships for students enrolled in STEM or STEM Education programs at affiliate North Dakota colleges and universities. The NDSGC Scholarships include multiple funding opportunities, with each one being merit-based and holding unique eligibility criteria.
- Requirements:
- Must be an undergraduate or graduate student.
- Must be enrolled in an NDSGC affiliate institution.
- Must be in good academic standing.
- Must be pursuing a degree in or related to the following areas:
- Science
- Technology
- Engineering
- Mathematics (STEM)
- STEM Education
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Still interested? Don’t wait, apply now! Template application guidance
- Requirements:
Industry Internships:
- NDSGC is thrilled to announce that applications for the Summer 2026 NDSGC Industry Internships are currently open! These opportunities are open to undergraduate and graduate students seeking hands-on experience in a STEM industry. We highly recommend that students begin to explore this opportunity immediately, to better prepare them to find industry partners and to apply for the upcoming semesters. Selected students will receive a stipend amount that varies based on hours/week and on undergraduate or graduate level research.
- Applications due: 1st of each month.
- Requirements:
- Must be an undergraduate or graduate student.
- Must be enrolled in an NDSGC affiliate institution.
- Must be proposing NASA-relevant work within the STEM industry.
- Must be in good academic standing.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Still interested? Don’t wait, apply now! Link to Industry Internship Application
NDSGC Competition Team Update:
- The NDSGC has been honored to support student involvement in regional and national NASA and STEM competitions through competition team funding. The NDSGC has been able to proudly support and provide funding to K–12 and collegiate teams by funding supplies, registration, and travel. Unfortunately, due to current budget constraints, competition team funding will not be available for the 2025–2026 academic year. A sincere thank you to the educators, mentors, and coaches who worked with the NDSGC and who devote their time and expertise to guiding students through competitions, shaping the future STEM workforce.
Potential funding resources:
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- VEX Robotics: U.S. Funding Sources
- Brockman Feldman Family Fund Grant Program: Information
- FIRST Grants with BAE Systems: Information
- DOD: STEM Robotics Grants
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Outside Opportunities
Opportunities NOT facilitated by the NDSGC but relevant to the NDSGC audience
COLLEGE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES
Earth Cup RACE 1:
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Earth Cup RACE 1 is an international university competition focused on designing and racing solar sail spacecraft to advance space technology and planetary sustainability. Student teams from around the world collaborate in a friendly, rules-based challenge with real mission outcomes. Open to undergraduate and graduate students across all majors — including STEM, business, sustainability, and design — Earth Cup offers hands-on experience in spacecraft design, systems engineering, and mission planning, plus valuable interdisciplinary teamwork and networking. The competition includes a white paper challenge followed by an on-orbit mission phase for selected teams.
👉 Learn more and sign up at: https://www.earthcup.space/user/register
- Applications open: Jan. 1, 2026
- Introductory webinars (open to all): Jan. 29, Feb. 5 and 12, 2026
- Intent to compete form due: Feb. 24, 2026
- White Paper due: May 8, 2026
NASA 2026 Summer Internships:
- The doorway to NASA Internships is opening soon! These internships allow college students of all majors the opportunity to complete a research project under the guidance of a mentor at any of the NASA centers. Once you apply and are selected, the NDSGC will reach out to NASA centers to advocate for you, but only for the summer internships. Upon selection, students will be responsible for securing any travel and/or housing needs related to their internship.
- Applications open: Nov. 1, 2025
- Applications due: Feb. 1, 2026
- Requirements:
- Must be an undergraduate or graduate student.
- Must be enrolled in an NDSGC affiliate institution.
- Must be proposing NASA-relevant work within the STEM industry.
- Must be in good academic standing.
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Still interested? Don’t wait, click now! Link to NDSGC NASA Internship Webpage
CisLune Internships:
- Full-time internships are available in multiple positions at the Los Angeles HQ for U.S. students excited about lunar exploration — running from January 15th to May 1st, 2026!
What you’ll do:
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- Build rover hardware, autonomy software, and run wheel–soil terramechanics tests.
- Calibrate mini spectrometers/LIDAR and create mission communications.
- Present results in weekly reviews with senior engineers and NASA collaborators.
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Internships available:
- Need more information? Point of Contact: erik@cislune.com
- Ready to join? Register now! Link: CisLune
OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERYONE
AlaskaX: Hibernation Science:
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- Presented by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, this free two-week introductory course explores hibernation science as a model for long-duration space travel. Participants study wood frogs, Arctic ground squirrels, and bears to understand strategies like metabolic suppression, freeze tolerance, and damage-free inactivity. Through this lens, the course examines how insights from animal hibernation research are informing emerging technologies and biomedical strategies for inducing synthetic torpor in humans, with implications for spaceflight, critical care medicine, and human adaptation to extreme environments.
- Registration: Aug. 13, 2025 – Aug. 4, 2026
- Certificate: $49
- Ready to learn more? Click now! Link: Information
- Link: Teaser Trailer
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