Guide to the NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection

Guide prepared by April Gage

NASA Ames Research Center Archives

NASA Ames Research Center

Mail Stop 207-1

Moffett Field, California 94035

Phone: (650) 604-1032

Email: ARC-DL-archives@mail.nasa.gov

URL: http://history.arc.nasa.gov

Guide to the NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection

NASA Ames Research Center Archives

NASA Ames Research Center

Contact Information:

NASA Ames Research Center Archives
Mail Stop 207-1
Moffett Field, CA 94035
Phone: (650) 604-1032
Email: ARC-DL-archives@mail.nasa.gov
URL: http://history.arc.nasa.gov

Collection processed and finding aid written by:: April Gage
Date Completed:: February 2022

Descriptive Summary

Title: NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection

Date (inclusive): 2000-2018

Date (bulk): 2006, 2013, 2015

Collection Number: ARC20.02

Extent: 2 cubic feet

(with 82 digital copies, 1.01 Gigabytes)

Repository: Ames Research Center, NASA Ames Research Center Archives

Moffett Field, California 94035

Abstract: This collection contains a selection of student entries for NASA's annual space settlement design contest in the form of thirty four original artworks and ten technical reports created by students from around the world in grades twelve and under. Also included is a 2008 technical paper about the contest and the lessons learned from it, and a photograph of contest ephemera (a clock). The bulk of the collection has been digitized.

Language: English

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright does not apply to United States government records. For non-government material, researcher must contact the original creator.

Preferred Citation

NASA Ames Research Center Archives, NASA Ames Research Center. Moffett Field, California. ARC20.02, NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection, [Container number] : [Folder number]. [Identification of item]. [Date, if available].

Abbreviated Citation

NASA ARC. ARC20.02, [Container number] : [Folder number]. [Identification of item]. [Date, if available].

Acquisition Information

Transferred by Ruth K. Globus on February 6, 2020 (Acc. 2020-002).

Accruals

Official NASA digital photographs of the front sides of the works, as captured by Ames Research Center photographer Dominic Hart were added to this collection in August 2023 (Accession 2023-016, ARC-TR-2023-016).

Administrative History

NASA Ames Research Center sponsored an annual international student space settlement design contest from 1994 to 2018, in conjunction with the National Space Society. The contest was co-founded and led by Ames scientist Al Globus. Each year, students were tasked with designing a permanent orbital space colony, with no restrictions on how their design should be executed or presented. Entries ranged from detailed engineering reports to artistic conceptualizations developed by both individuals and teams. The contest was intended for students in the sixth to twelfth grades, with students in different grade levels being judged separately. Over the years, participants in lower grades also submitted entries, which were accepted, and some won awards. Several categories of awards were given out, including one for art and a grand prize for the overall best entry. Submissions had to be mailed by post in paper form to arrive at Ames by March 31 of each year to be judged by a panel of the center's scientists and engineers. To keep costs down while also engaging students from around the world, administration of the contest was largely conducted through an informational website developed by Al Globus. In 2019, sponsorship of the contest, along with the website, was transferred to the National Space Society. (An archived copy of the 2018 version of the website is in the NASA Ames Research Center Archives. See Related Collections.)

Indexing Terms

The following terms may be used to index this collection.

Corporate Name

Ames Research Center

Personal Name

Globus, Al

Globus, Ruth K. (Ruth Kathleen), 1954-

Subjects

School contests

Space (Art)

Space Colonies--Design and Construction

Scope and Content

This collection comprises a conference paper about the contest presented at the 2008 International Conference on Environmental Systems, and a small assortment of contest entries from students around the world, which were accumulated by Ames senior scientist Ruth Globus. She participated as a judge and, for a time, was a NASA civil servant sponsor for the contest. Globus displayed some of the artwork in her office over the years. Also included is a photograph of space settlement design contest ephemera in the form of a clock that sat on a bookshelf in Globus's office at Ames.

Contest entries in this collection include ten technical reports, most of which are grand prize winners, and thirty four original artworks submitted by students in grades twelve and below from schools in Bulgaria, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Romania, South Korea, and the United States. Many of the artworks received prizes for artistic merit. Some submissions have entry forms with more information, including short descriptions from the students.

The bulk of the collection has been digitized. A separate container list in tabular form is provided for this material.

Note

A container list for this collection is available in a separate document.

LINK TO CONTAINER LIST IN TABULAR FORM: arc2002_FileKey.pdf .

Arrangement of the NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contest Collection

Contest entries are arranged chronologically by type (artwork or report), then by artist and team. Digital reproductions of artwork files are arranged in two sets. One set in PDF format provides reproductions of both sides of the works as well as any supporting documentation. A second set in JPG format provides official NASA photographs of the front sides of the works, as captured by Ames photographer Dominic Hart (NASA photograph catalog series ACD23-0090).

DATE. ITEM #. TITLE. CREATOR. COUNTRY. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. SIZE IN INCHES (W X H). TYPE. MEDIUM (ALL ARTWORKS ARE ON PAPER). GRADE

2006. Item # 01. Untitled. Yan Kiu Lam. Hong Kong. Artistic Merit Second Prize, 2006. 15 x 11.5. Artwork. Acrylic?. Grade unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2006. Item # 02. Untitled. Man Shun Leung. Hong Kong. Artistic Merit First Prize, 2006. 15 x 11.5. Artwork. Watercolor and crayon. Grade 3

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2006. Item # 03. Untitled. Lok Yan Chan. Hong Kong. Submitted 2006. 15 x 11.5. Artwork. Watercolor and crayon. Grade 3

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2006. Item # 04. Untitled. Kenneth Chu. Hong Kong. Artistic Merit First Prize, 2006 . 15 x 11.5. Artwork. Watercolor and crayon. Grade 6

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2006. Item # 05. Untitled. Mayank Gupta, Team Tejas. India. Tejas won Literary Merit First Prize in 2006. 14 x 11. Artwork. Crayon and glitter, laminated. Grade unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F2

2006. Item # 06. Untitled. Archana Jayaraan, Team Tejas. India. Tejas won Literary Merit First Prize in 2006. 14 x 11. Artwork. Crayon and glitter, laminated. Unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F2

2006. Item # 07. Untitled. Archana Jayaraan, Team Tejas. India. Tejas won Literary Merit First Prize in 2006. 11 x 14. Artwork. Crayon and glitter, laminated. Unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F2

2006. Item # 08. Untitled. Vaibhav Gupta, Team Tejas. India. Tejas won Literary Merit First Prize in 2006. 11 x 14. Artwork. Crayon and glitter, laminated. Unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F2

2006. Item # 09. Untitled. Yukti Malik, Team Tejas. India. Tejas won Literary Merit First Prize in 2006. 14 x 11. Artwork. Crayon and glitter, laminated. Unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F2

2006. Item # 10. Untitled. Pui Shan Mak. Hong Kong. Submitted 2006. 15 x 11.5. Artwork. Watercolor. 6

Physical Location: RR-I4, F3

2013. Item # 11. Space Settlement. Rimpa Samanta. India. Artistic Merit Second Prize, 2013. 21.5 x 18. Artwork. Watercolor, crayon, metallic paint, and glitter. Grade 7 and under

Physical Location: HB-FF04 D3

2013. Item # 12. Space - A Home for Anyone. Ana Nicoleta Ciuciu. Romania. Submitted 2013. 11.5 x 16.5. Artwork. Acrylic?. Grade 5

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2013. Item # 13. Contact With Space. Lui Lai Wa. Hong Kong. Artistic Merit Honorable Mention, 2013. 16.5 x 11.75. Artwork. Watercolor. Grade 7 and under

Physical Location: RR-I4, F3

2015. Item # 14. New Generation in the Moon. You Jin Lee. United States. Artistic Merit First Prize, 2015. 24 x 18. Artwork. Watercolor?. Grade 7 and under

Physical Location: HB-FF04 D3

2015. Item # 15. Amazing Space Journey. Vinci Chan Wing Chi. Hong Kong. Submitted 2015. 10 x 15. Artwork. Watercolor. 3

Physical Location: RR-I4, F1

2015. Item # 16. The NASA Globe. Saddat Nazir. United States. Submitted 2015. 13.75 x 11. Artwork. Marker and crayon. 6

Physical Location: RR-I4, F3

2015?. Item # 17. Pratyush. Ryan International School Student team. India. Undated submission fragment (a team named Pratyush won Artistic Merit First Prize in 2010 and Artistic Merit Honorable Mention in 2015). 17 x 12. Artwork. Watercolor and pen and ink. 11-12

Physical Location: RR-I4, B1

2015. Item # 18-32. Viraaj portfolio of 15 artworks: 18 - Viraaj (cover page); 19 - The Moon Walk; 20 - Magnum Opus; 21 - The Fiery Planet; 22 - Placid Space Life; 23 - The Rising; 24 - Future Ready; 25 - The Rover; 26 - Lightening [sic] Connectivity; 27 - The Space Untangled; 28 - The Super Age; 29 - Spacing Out...; 30 - Star-Telite; 31 - The Shooting Star. 32 - The Breakthrough. Ryan International School students: Akshita Jain, Anadika Arya, Ayushi Kapoor, Harsh Vikram Singh, Luv Aggarwal, Nikita Baldeva, Reva Bhalla, Rishika ehta, Sidhi Khemka, Somdatta Ghosh, Somya Barthwal, Vanshika Udiya, Vivek Goel, and Vrinda [last name not provided]. India. Submitted 2015. 17 x 12. Artwork. Acrylic, watercolor, pastels, glitter, foil. Grade 8-10

Physical Location: RR-I4, B1

2017. Item # 33. Journey to Space. Veerla Vikas. India. Tied for Artistic Merit First Prize, 2017. 42.5 x 30. Artwork. Watercolor. Grade 7 and under

Physical Location: HB-FF04 D3

Undated. Item # 34. Untitled. Unidentified. Sadat Nazir?. Unidentified. Artist, title, and date of submission is unidentified. 13.75 x 11. Artwork. Marker and crayon. Grade unidentified

Physical Location: RR-I4, F3

2008. Item # 35. Fifteen Years of NASA Student Space Settlement Design Contests: Some Lessons. Al Globus, Ruth Globus, Tugrul Sezen, Hami E. Teal, Wenonah Vercoutere, and Bryan Yager. United States. Technical paper 2008-01-2202 presented at the International Conference on Environmental Systems. Published June 29, 2008 by SAE International. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4271/2008-01-2202. na. Conference Paper. na. na

Physical Location: Digital

Undated. Item # 36. Ephemera: Space Settlement Design Contest clock. Ames Research Center. United States. . na. Photograph. na. na

Physical Location: Digital

2000. Item # 37. DAEDALUSAL4. Mark Cummins, Lorraine Murphy, Stuart Redmond, Alison Squire and Cian Wilson from Blackrock College (a high school) and St. Joseph of Cluny School in Dublin. Ireland. Grand Prize, 2000. No digital copy of the paper report. Cover only in digital form. Report. Grade 12