NASA's Back-to-School STEM Push

As the 2026-2027 school year begins, NASA is expanding its portfolio of student engagement programs, from hands-on internships to virtual Q&A sessions with astronauts on the International Space Station. The agency is positioning itself as a gateway for students curious about space and eager to develop real-world STEM skills.

Internships offer authentic mission experiences guided by NASA mentors, while student challenges and competitions allow teams to design, prototype, and test solutions to technical problems facing actual mission planners. Additionally, NASA Career Technical Education Days and Next Gen STEM Virtual Career Connections will connect high school and community college students with skilled technical workers, providing insight into aerospace career paths.

Outside the classroom, the Science Mission Directorate is recruiting volunteers for citizen science projects, such as identifying comets, asteroids, and binary star systems using real mission data. Upcoming launch milestones—including the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30 and SpaceX Crew-13 in September—will offer virtual guest experiences, and Artemis III hardware preparations are underway for a 2027 orbital test flight.

Workforce Development and the Space Race

Building the Pipeline for a “Golden Age” of Exploration

NASA describes the current era as a “new golden age of exploration,” and the breadth of these programs underscores the agency’s need for a steady talent pipeline. The challenges and internships are not simply educational enrichment; they are designed to cultivate the next generation of aerospace engineers, mission planners, and skilled technicians. By allowing students to work on authentic agency projects and interact directly with astronauts and technical experts, NASA is making an early investment in the workforce that will be required for Artemis missions to the Moon and eventual crewed missions to Mars.

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Beyond the Classroom: Citizen Science and Public Outreach

The citizen science initiatives and virtual launch events reflect a parallel strategy of broadening public engagement. By lowering the barrier to participation—volunteers can contribute from anywhere on their own schedule—NASA can harness distributed human analysis for tasks like asteroid hunting while also deepening public support for space exploration. The In-Flight STEM Downlinks, where astronauts answer student questions from orbit, serve both as inspiration and as a tangible demonstration that STEM careers are not confined to Earth.

How Students and Educators Can Get Involved

  • Explore internships at NASA’s internships website to check current vacancies, deadlines, and eligibility requirements.
  • Join a student challenge by reviewing the full list of NASA STEM challenges and competitions and assembling a team to design, prototype, and test solutions.
  • Attend virtual career events through NASA Career Technical Education Days (for high school and community college students) or Next Gen STEM Virtual Career Connections to interact with technical experts.
  • Participate in citizen science by choosing a project from the Science Mission Directorate’s list—identifying comets, asteroids, or binary star systems—using real mission data.
  • Register as a virtual guest for upcoming launches: the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (no earlier than Aug. 30) and SpaceX Crew-13 (September), and follow Artemis III progress.
  • Subscribe to the weekly NASA EXPRESS email newsletter for the latest STEM opportunities.