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STUDENTS DESIGN THE STATION. TEACHERS FLY IT.
SUBMIT BY MAY 4TH
The Project Hail Mary Challenge
Build a Rotating Spacecraft that achieves Artificial Gravity.
The Project Hail Mary Challenge puts teachers at the center of the story. Educators guide students as they design a small rotating space station based on the artificial gravity concept from Project Hail Mary.
Guided by their teacher, student teams apply physics, math, and engineering reasoning to design a two-module space station that generates artificial gravity through rotation. Selected teachers fly their students’ winning designs in real microgravity during a parabolic flight.
This is a classroom-based design challenge. Teachers serve as the project lead, and students act as the engineering team.
Read the QuickStart Guide. Assemble your team. Develop the application materials. Submit by May 4, 2026. Selections announced in early Jun 2026.
This is your Hail Mary. Let's get Started.
Flight Testing in Microgravity
Selected teachers will test their students’ designs in real microgravity during a parabolic flight.
A parabolic flight uses repeated climb and descent maneuvers to create short free-fall intervals, producing about 20 seconds of microgravity per parabola. This allows the rotating spacecraft to be evaluated without Earth’s gravity, revealing stability and rotation behavior that classroom tests cannot.
The Challenge at a Glance
- Classrooms design and build a two-module rotating model spacecraft that produces artificial gravity
- Designs rely on centripetal acceleration, center-of-mass placement, and controlled rotation
- Students document their design process, testing, and reasoning
- Teachers submit a single classroom entry
Two classrooms will be selected. The teacher from each selected classroom will fly the student-built spacecraft in microgravity as part of the SfT Embedded Teacher Program.
Who can Participate
- Classroom educators working with enrolled students in grades K–12
- Public, private, charter, or virtual schools
- One entry per teacher
- Students participate as the design and engineering team
No prior aerospace or microgravity experience is required. The challenge materials are designed to support classrooms at a range of technical entry points. Collaboration across disciplines and grade level is encouraged.
What Selected Classrooms Receive
- A seat on a parabolic flight testing student-designed hardware (for the lead teacher)
- Travel and accommodations associated with the flight
- Technical guidance through final design reviews and flight readiness
- A Databot 2.0 sensor for data collection (classroom)
- Ongoing mentorship from the Space for Teachers technical team
All participating classrooms gain access to open, classroom-ready curriculum materials tied to the challenge.
The Process
The challenge is intentionally structured to support complex projects and encourage collaboration.
We recommend the following path:
- Start with the Quick Start Guide
Review the overview, timeline, and expectations to determine how the challenge fits your classroom - Move into the Competition Handbook
Use the handbook to guide design decisions, testing procedures, safety constraints, and submission requirements. - Prepare Your Submission
Draft written responses offline, organize required files, and submit your classroom entry through the online submission site.
The links below provide everything you need to begin.
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