Eligibility

• HERC is open to U.S. and International teams.
• All team members shall be currently enrolled students from a middle school, high school, an accredited institution of higher learning, or an institution such as a science center, museum, planetarium, or youth-serving organization. Multi-institutional teams are permitted for same level of education, i.e., two or more high schools on one team. Students from middle schools, high schools, and accredited institutions of higher learning shall not be combined.

• Middle School teams will be composted of student ages 11 through 14.
• High School teams will be composed of students ages 14 through 19.
• Accredited institutions of higher learning (College/University) teams shall be composed of undergraduate students.
• Accredited institutions of higher learning (College/University) undergraduate teams will be composed of students ages 18 and older. Students who are younger than 18, may require age and enrollment verification.
• Centers or youth-serving organization teams must follow educational level age requirements listed above. No combination of middle school, high school, and accredited institution of higher learning is allowed.

Proposals

All potential teams are required to submit a proposal to compete. Top scoring proposals will be selected to compete. If your team is selected, Student Team Leader will be allowed to register for the competition through NASA STEM Gateway (stemgateway.nasa.gov). Once the student team leader’s application is completed, they will receive an offer email from NASA STEM Gateway and will need to accept the offer. Once accepted, the Student Team Leader will send invitations through NASA STEM Gateway to each team member to register as part of the team.

See the 2025 Handbook for full guidelines, regulations, and timeline.

How to Apply

2025 HERC Proposals are due by Thursday, September 19, 2024. Late submissions will not be considered. Email your proposal as a PDF, using the following nomenclature: School Name_2025_HERC Proposal.

Email: HERC@mail.nasa.gov

Complete the following steps to submit a Challenge Application in NASA STEM Gateway:

1. Login OR Create a Customized Profile – Create an account for access to additional functionality and curated experiences.
2. Choose the Challenge Opportunity – The challenge opportunity will only be accessible during the active (open) application period.
3. Click on the Apply button in the upper-right corner and complete the application.  

2025 challenge dates will be added upon availability.