[NASA] NASA Selects Winners of the 2024-2025 Power to Explore Challenge

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3 min read

NASA Selects Winners of the 2024-2025 Power to Explore Challenge

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Ten-year-old, Terry Xu of Arcadia, California; 14-year-old, Maggie Hou of Snohomish, Washington; and 17-year-old, Kairat Otorov of Trumbull, Connecticut, winners of the 2024-2025 Power to Explore Student Writing Challenge.

NASA/David Lam, Binbin Zheng, The Herald/Olivia Vanni, Meerim Otorova

NASA has chosen three winners out of nine finalists in the fourth annual Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition designed to teach K-12 students about the enabling power of radioisotopes for space exploration.

“Congratulations to the amazing champions and all of the participants!

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Carl Sandifer II

Program Manager, NASA’s Radioisotope Power Systems Program

The essay competition asked students to learn about NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS), likened to “nuclear batteries,” which the agency has used discover “moonquakes” on Earth’s Moon and study some of the most extreme of the more than 891 moons in the solar system. In 275 words or less, students dreamed up a unique exploration mission of one of these moons and described their own power to achieve their mission goals.

“I’m so impressed by the creativity and knowledge of our Power to Explore winners,” said Carl Sandifer II, program manager of the Radioisotope Power Systems Program at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Entries were split into three groups based on grade level, and a winner was chosen from each. The three winners, each accompanied by a guardian, are invited to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland for a VIP tour of its world-class research facilities this summer.

The winners are:

• Terry Xu, Arcadia, California, kindergarten through fourth grade
• Maggie Hou, Snohomish, Washington, fifth through eighth grade
• Kairat Otorov, Trumbull, Connecticut, ninth through 12th grade

“Congratulations to the amazing champions and all of the participants! Your “super powers” inspire me and make me even more optimistic about the future of America’s leadership in space,” Sandifer said.

The Power to Explore Challenge offered students the opportunity to learn about space power, celebrate their own strengths, and interact with NASA’s diverse workforce. This year’s contest received nearly 2,051 submitted entries from all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity overseas.

Every student who submitted an entry received a digital certificate and an invitation to the Power Up virtual event held on March 21. There, NASA announced the 45 national semifinalists, and students learned about what powers the NASA workforce.

Additionally, the national semifinalists received a NASA RPS prize pack.

NASA announced three finalists in each age group (nine total) on April 23. Finalists were invited to discuss their mission concepts with a NASA scientist or engineer during an exclusive virtual event.

The challenge is funded by the Radioisotope Power Systems Program Office in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and administered by Future Engineers under a Small Business Innovation Research phase III contract. This task is managed by the NASA Tournament Lab, a part of the Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing Program in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

For more information on radioisotope power systems visit: https://nasa.gov/rps

Karen Fox / Erin Morton

Headquarters, Washington

301-286-6284 / 202-805-9393

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Kristin Jansen

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

216-296-2203

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