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By NASA
Explore This Section RPS Home About About RPS About the Program About Plutonium-238 Safety and Reliability For Mission Planners Contact RPS Systems Overview Power Systems Thermal Systems Dynamic Radioisotope Power Missions Overview Timeline News Resources STEM Power to Explore Contest FAQ 4 min read
NASA Reveals Semifinalists of Power to Explore Challenge
A word cloud showing “superpowers” of the 45 semifinalists. NASA/David Lam NASA selected 45 student essays as semifinalists of its 2024-2025 Power to Explore Challenge, a national competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions and to dream up how their personal “superpower” would energize their success on their own radioisotope-powered science mission to explore one of the nearly 300 moons of our solar system.
The competition asked students to learn about radioisotope power systems (RPS), a type of “nuclear battery” that NASA uses to explore the harshest, darkest, and dustiest parts of our solar system. RPS have enabled many spacecraft to explore a variety of these moons, some with active volcanoes, methane lakes, and intricate weather patterns similar to Earth. Many of these moons remain a mystery to us.
This year’s submissions to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge were immensely enthralling, and we’re thrilled that the number of entries reached a record high.
Carl Sandifer II
Program Manager, NASA Radioisotope Power Systems Program
In 275 words or less, students wrote about a mission of their own that would use these space power systems to explore any moon in our solar system and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.
The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn more about these reliable power systems, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest set a record, receiving 2,051 submitted entries from all 50 states, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Overseas.
“This year’s submissions to NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge were immensely enthralling, and we’re thrilled that the number of entries reached a record high,” said Carl Sandifer II, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “It was particularly interesting to see which moons the students selected for their individual essays, and the mysteries they hope to unravel. Their RPS-powered mission concepts always prove to be innovative, and it’s a joy to learn about their ‘superpowers’ that exemplify their path forward as the next generation of explorers.”
Entries were split into three categories: grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate, and over 4,859 participants who signed up received an invitation to the Power Up with NASA virtual event. Students learned about what powers the NASA workforce utilizes to dream big and work together to explore. Speakers included Carl Sandifer II, Dr. Wanda Peters, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for programs in the Science Mission Directorate and Dr. Zibi Turtle, principal investigator for NASA’s Dragonfly mission from the John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Fifteen national semifinalists in each grade category (45 semifinalists total) have been selected. These participants also will receive a NASA RPS prize pack. Finalists for this challenge will be announced on April 23.
Grades K-4
Vihaan Akhoury, Roseland, NJ Ada Brolan, Somerville, MA Ashwin Cohen, Washington D.C Unnathi Chandra Devavarapu, San Marcos, CA Levi Fisher, Portland, OR Tamanna Ghosh, Orlando, FL Ava Goodison, Arnold, MD Anika Lal, Pflugerville, TX Diya Loganathan, Secaucus, NJ Mini M, Ann Arbor, MI Mark Porter, Temple Hills, MD Rohith Thiruppathy, Canton, MI Zachary Tolchin, Guilford CT Kavin Vairavan, West Windsor Township, NJ Terry Xu, Arcadia, CA Grades 5-8
Chowdhury Wareesha Ali, Solon OH Caydin Brandes, Los Angeles, CA Caleb Braswell, Crestview, FL Lilah Coyan, Spokane, WA Ashwin Dhondi Kubeer, Phoenix, AZ Jonathan Gigi, Cypress, TX Gagan Girish, Portland, OR Maggie Hou, Snohomish, WA Sanjay Koripelli, Louisville, KY Isaiah Muniz, South Orange, NJ Sarabhesh Saravanakumar, Bothell, WA Eliya Schubert, Katonah, NY Gabriel Traska, Fort Woth, TX Jaxon Verbeck, Riggins, ID Krish Vinodhkumar, Monrovia, MD Grades 9-12
Samaria Berry, Kinder, LA David Cai, Saipan, MP Reggie Castro, Saipan, MP Ryan Danyow, Rutland City, VT Faiz Karim, Jericho, NY Sakethram Kuncha, Chantilly, VA Katerina Morin, Miami, FL Emilio Olivares, Edmond, OK Kairat Otorov, Trumbull, CT Dev Rai, Herndon, VA Shaurya Saxena, Irving, TX Saanvi Shah, Bothell, WA Niyant Sithamraju, San Ramon, CA Anna Swenson, Henderson, NV Alejandro Valdez, Orlando, FL About the Challenge
The Power to Explore Student Challenge is funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office and managed and administered by Future Engineers under the direction of the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Kristin Jansen
NASA’s Glenn Research Center
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By NASA
This year’s RASC-AL competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.ASANASA Fourteen university teams have been selected as finalists for NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition. This year’s competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Finalists will present their proposed concepts to a panel of NASA and aerospace industry leaders.
The 2025 Finalists are:
Sustained Lunar Evolution – An Inspirational Moment: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “M.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. – Moon Infrastructure for Sustainable Technologies, Resource Extraction, and Self-Sufficiency” Tulane University, “Scalable Constructs for Advanced Lunar Activities and Research (SCALAR)” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Aeneas” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Khonsu” Advanced Science Missions and Technology Demonstrators for Human-Mars Precursor Campaign: Auburn University, “Dynamic Ecosystems for Mars ECLSS Testing, Evaluation, and Reliability (DEMETER)” University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, “MATER: Mars Architecture for Technology Evaluation and Research” Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, “Project Vehicles for Engineering Surface Terrain Architectures (VESTA)” Small Lunar Servicing and Maintenance Robot: Arizona State University, “DIANA – Diagnostic and Intelligent Autonomously Navigated Assistant” South Dakota State University, “Next-gen Operations and Versatile Assistant (NOVA)” South Dakota State University, “MANTIS: Maintenance and Navigation for Technical Infrastructure Support” Texas A&M University, “R.A.M.S.E.E.: Robotic Autonomous Maintenance System for Extraterrestrial Environments” University of Maryland, “Servicing Crane Outfitted Rover for Payloads, Inspection, Operations, N’stuff (SCORPION)” University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, “Multi-functional Operational Rover for Payload Handling and Navigation (MORPHN)” Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, “Adaptive Device for Assistance and Maintenance (ADAM)” The RASC-AL Competition is designed to engage university students and academic institutions in innovation within the field of aerospace engineering. By providing a platform for students to develop and present their ideas, NASA aims to cultivate foundational research for new concepts and technologies for the future of space exploration. This year’s RASC-AL projects include scalable lunar infrastructure and services, a lunar robot that can work autonomously or be controlled remotely, and a concept for a science or technology demonstration mission using human-scale launch, transportation, entry, and landing capabilities at Mars. All of these functions are critical to future NASA missions.
“This year’s RASC-AL projects are not just academic exercises; they will contribute real solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we currently face. The competition continues to highlight the importance of innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in aerospace,” said Daniel Mazanek, RASC-AL program sponsor and senior space systems engineer from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.
These finalist teams will move forward to the next phase of the competition, where they will prepare and submit a detailed technical paper outlining their designs, methodologies, and anticipated impacts. Each team will present their concepts at the 2025 RASC-AL Competition Forum in June 2025 showcasing their work to a judging panel of NASA and industry experts for review and discussion.
“The ingenuity and out-of-the-box designs showcased by these students is inspiring,” added Dr. Christopher Jones, RASC-AL program sponsor and chief technologist for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’S Langley “We are excited to see how their ideas can contribute to NASA’s ongoing missions and future exploration goals. This is just the beginning of their journey, and we are proud to be part of it.”
To learn more about NASA’s RASC-AL Competition, visit NASA’s RASC-AL Competition Website. RASC-AL is sponsored by the Strategy and Architecture Office within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and by the Space Mission Analysis Branch within the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center. It is administered by the National Institute of Aerospace.
Genevieve Ebarle / Victoria O’Leary
National Institute of Aerospace
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By Space Force
DAF guidance on Return to In-Person Work for the purpose of creating a more capable and lethal force.
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By Space Force
The Department of the Air Force provided guidance March 19 for military members and civilian employees who are presently on TDY, traveling on PCS orders, or scheduled to begin such travel for A1-sponsored training.
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By Space Force
The DAF announced its validation plan in response to the Restoring America’s Fighting Force Task Force established in January 2025.
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