Watch this space for contest news. Note the following:
- The Winners for the 2025 Contest are posted here.
- As a reminder, we DO NOT PROVIDE FEEDBACK because the large volume of entries makes this prohibitive.
- Make sure to visit the ISDC Student page to register for the conference and apply for oral and/or poster presentations. Visa letters can also be requested following the directions on that page.
In 2025, we had over 26,000 students participate in more than 4,900 entries. Entries came from 25 countries around the world.
Starting with the 2025 season, use of AI generated text and images must be explicitly identified and cited. NOTE: Use of AI text for Literary Merit entries is now STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Disqualification for AI use is up to the discretion of the Literary Merit judges.
We award $500 prizes for the top Artistic Merit and Literary Merit submissions, respectively.
New file formats are eligible for Artistic Merit submissions. These formats may also be used for supplementing PDF entries in other categories, but should be used sparingly. Unless you are submitting to the Artistic Merit category, the primary submission must be a PDF, and this is the only document file format accepted. Each attachment may be no larger than 24 MB, regardless of the file format. Please only use these other file formats if they significantly enhance your submission:
- Images may be any of the following: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .tif, .tiff
- Vector Graphics may be any of the following: .eps, .stl
- Audio files may now be uploaded, but are constrained to the following lossy formats: .mp3 (preferred), .aac, .ogg
- Small videos may be uploaded and are constrained to the following format: .mp4
Note that we now also include the ability to link to a web-hosted video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), so consider using that option given the 24 MB constraint on file uploads. While judges are not required to follow these links, it provides a chance for you to speak directly to the judges.
This contest had been sponsored by NASA Ames Research Center from 1994-2018, for many of those years in conjunction with the National Space Society (NSS). In 2019, sponsorship was fully transferred to the National Space Society.
