Cube Quest Challenge
The Cube Quest competition, sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Centennial Challenge Program, offers a total prize purse of $5 million to teams that meet the challenge objectives of designing, building and delivering flight-qualified, small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the Moon.
Cube Quest teams will have the opportunity to compete for a secondary payload spot on the first mission of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which will launch atop the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
The competition includes three stages: Ground Tournaments, Deep Space Derby, and Lunar Derby. All teams may compete in any one of the four Ground Tournaments. Teams that rate high on mission safety and probability of success will receive incremental awards. The Ground Tournaments will be held every four to six months, leading to an opportunity to earn a spot on the first integrated flight of Orion and SLS.
The Deep Space Derby will focus on finding innovative solutions to deep space communications using small spacecraft, and the Lunar Derby will focus primarily on propulsion for small spacecraft and near-Earth communications. Together, these challenges are expected to contribute to opening deep space exploration to non-government spacecraft for the first time.
Advancements in small spacecraft capabilities may not only provide benefits to future missions, but also may enable entirely new mission scenarios. The Cube Quest Challenge seeks to establish precedence for all subsystems necessary to perform deep-space exploration using small spacecraft.
Cube Quest News
Cube Quest Concludes: Wins, Lessons Learned from Centennial Challenge
The Cube Quest Challenge, a NASA-led prize competition that was created in 2015, has concluded one year after the launch of one of the finalists aboard the SLS rocket for the Artemis I mission.
Learn More about Cube Quest Concludes: Wins, Lessons Learned from Centennial Challenge
Cube Quest Guide
The Cube Quest competition offers a total of $5 million to teams that meet the challenge objectives of designing, building and delivering flight-qualified, small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon.
Contact
Challenge
Denise Morris
Program Manager
denise.morris@nasa.gov
Media Inquiries
Jonathan Deal
Public Relations Officer
jonathan.e.deal@nasa.gov
Cube Quest Challenge Deputy Administrators
Arwen Dave, Ellaine Talle
NASA’s Ames Research Center
Silicon Valley, California
Cube Quest Challenge Administrator
Philip Shih
Ames Research Center
Moffett Field, California
Rules and Regulations
The Cube Quest competition, sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Centennial Challenge Program, offers a total prize purse of $5 million to teams that meet the challenge objectives of designing, building and delivering flight-qualified, small satellites capable of advanced operations near and beyond the moon.
Learn More about Rules and Regulations
Cube Quest Challenge News
Three DIY CubeSats Score Rides on NASA’s First Flight of Orion, Space Launch System
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) has awarded rides for three small spacecraft on the agency's newest rocket, and $20,000 each in prize money, to the winning teams of citizen solvers competing in the semi-final round of the agency’s Cube Quest Challenge.
