NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure

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Credit: National Institute of Aerospace

NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels, to improve safety, reliability, and costs by 2035 or sooner.

Infrastructure is the foundation of the nation’s strong economy, global competitiveness, and daily quality of life. When that infrastructure is damaged or in disrepair, it restricts the movement of people, goods, and critical resources like water and energy. Inspections are important throughout the lifetime of infrastructure projects, but they often come with challenges.

Structures such as tunnels, bridges, highways, railways, and electric grids can be massive in size and difficult to reach. They can require disruptive shutdowns to access, or force workers to navigate extreme heights, confined spaces, and hazardous environments. As infrastructure ages and expands, there are opportunities to use innovative airborne platforms to improve current inspection practices.

“The demands for creative solutions like airborne platforms to improve the infrastructure sector are increasing exponentially,” said Steven Holz, Gateways to Blue Skies competition lead, NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “The time is ripe for innovative students to transform how we work with our critical infrastructure, and this competition gives talented students the opportunity to do so.”

Sponsored by NASA’s University Innovation Project, the 2027 Gateways to Blue Skies competition encourages multidisciplinary teams of college students to conceptualize innovations in the world of aviation. Each year, the competition selects a new theme based on a complex challenge facing the Nation. It aims to engage as many students as possible from all backgrounds, majors, and collegiate levels.

The competition is open to teams of two to six students and divided into two phases. In Phase 1, teams will submit a proposal and an accompanying two-minute video, which will be judged by NASA and industry experts. Up to eight finalist teams will each receive a $9,000 prize and advance to Phase 2, where they will present their updated work to a panel of NASA and industry experts at a forum in May 2027. Winners will be offered the opportunity to intern with NASA Aeronautics in the academic year following the forum.

Teams interested in participating in the competition can review guidelines and eligibility requirements posted on the competition website. Teams are encouraged to submit a non-binding Notice of Intent by Monday, Oct. 12, via the website to stay apprised of competition news. Proposal and video submissions are due Feb. 22, 2027. The Gateway to Blue Skies Competition is run by the Aeronautics Division in NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate. NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program within the Research and Technology Mission Directorate, manages the challenge contract. The National Institute of Aerospace administers the challenge on behalf of NASA.

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