2026-2027 DWU: Middle School Design Challenge

The 2026-2027 obstacle style is, “Fueling Flight Design Challenge: New Energy Systems.”

As a growing number of airplane belong of the United States’ National Airspace System (NAS), NASA and partners at the FAA, at universities, and in the air travel market are looking for methods to increase security, make flight more economical, discover brand-new fuels for airplane, and lower the quantity of time guests and freight invest in the air. This year’s Dream with United States Challenge concentrates on brand-new airplane fuels and how even the addition of one brand-new fuel will alter both the airplane they are utilized in and the airports where airplane remove and land.

The “Fueling Flight Design Challenge: New Energy Systems” difficulty is open to middle and high school trainees, with a various job for intermediate school groups and high school groups. Groups for both classifications will concentrate on the addition of an emerging airplane fuel source, liquid gas (LNG) into our air travel environment. This will need groups to find out more about LNG, how it may be utilized in air travel, the advantages of an extra fuel source, and what sort of modifications would require to be made to airplane and to airports to adjust to these brand-new modifications.

Because the early days of air travel, industrial airplane have actually counted on conventional styles and facilities. Airplane have actually been a comparable “tube-and-wing” style, with constraints that were made since of the products airplane were made with, together with the innovation to develop these airplane. With the increasing accessibility of brand-new innovations and brand-new products, airplane no longer require to follow the exact same standard style. In addition, brand-new research study about fuel types, increasing need for more flights and more fuel has actually led to several alternatives that consist of kinds of fuel, increasing electrification, and more. That likewise suggests airports are going to require to change. Modifications in airport facilities will be required to include numerous fuel types, various entrance setups to enable brand-new airplane types, and maybe even various locations for various airplane. What will this all appear like? That partly depends upon scientists and designers in the future given that these are obstacles the aeronautics neighborhood is beginning to deal with now and will continue to perform in the future.

Intermediate school trainee groups of 2-4 members will adjust an existing airport( or produce among their own)that integrates using both melted gas (LNG )and conventional air travel fuel. The airport style need to consist of the general airport design that consists of(however is not restricted to): control tower (s), garages, fuel places, terminal, traveler parking, runways. See requirements listed below for particular information.

The 2026/2027 Dream with United States Design Challenge for middle and high school trainees opens September 25, 2026. The submission duration for intermediate school entrants starts September 25, 2026, and concludes on January 22, 2027, at 11:59 pm ET. Schools, companies, and neighborhood groups must interact to moms and dads and guardians that submissions are restricted to one entry per group and group registration needs somebody over the age of 13 to develop the account (adult group sponsors might develop the registration on the group’s behalf if preferred). Entries should be sent through the submission link on the Dream with United States Design Challenge website: https://www.nasa.gov/dream-with-us/. Signed authorization kinds from moms and dads or legal guardians are needed for all individuals that consent to the terms and requirements noted below and on the submission kind.

Usage of expert system tools for challenge-related work is not allowed. Groups should not publish, procedure, or produce any material utilizing AI systems, consisting of openly offered browser‑based GenAI services, AI‑assisted code generation tools, or AI‑generated images. All submissions should be produced entirely by employee without the help of AI.

The intermediate school obstacle is open to all individuals in grades 6– 8 who are participating in public, personal, parochial, and home schools in the United States of America and kids of U.S. military members stationed overseas.

Trainees in grades 9– 12 will utilize the high school module. See the Dream with United States primary website for information.Keep in mind: for groups that have both middle and high school trainees, those groups will contend in the high school difficulty.

Submissions for the Dream with United States: Middle School Aviation Challenge are accepted September 25, 2026 — January 22, 2027. Submission link:PLACE LINK HEREWinners will initially be revealed throughout a virtual awards reception (date TBD) then shared on social networks and the Dream with United States style difficulty website after the reception.

Submissions for the Dream with United States: Middle School Aviation Challenge are accepted September 25, 2026 — January 22, 2027. Submission link:PLACE LINK HEREWinners will initially be revealed throughout a virtual awards reception (date TBD) then shared on social networks and the Dream with United States style obstacle web page after the reception.

• Difficulty starts September 25, 2026 through January 22, 2027
• Registration Deadline:?
• Submission Deadline:?
• Finalists chosen and revealed:?
• Finalist discussions (Virtual):?
• Winners Announcement:?

Difficulty Rules

The 2026/2027 Dream with United States Design Challenge for middle and high school trainees opens September 25, 2026. The submission duration for intermediate school entrants starts September 25, 2026, and concludes on January 22, 2027, at 11:59 pm ET. Schools, companies, and neighborhood groups ought to interact to moms and dads and guardians that submissions are restricted to one entry per group and group registration needs somebody over the age of 13 to develop the account (adult group sponsors might produce the registration on the group’s behalf if wanted). Entries need to be sent through the submission link on the Dream with United States Design Challenge website: https://www.nasa.gov/dream-with-us/. Signed approval types from moms and dads or legal guardians are needed for all individuals that accept the terms and requirements noted below and on the submission kind.

Each group submission will have 2 different classifications: technical and imaginative. Both classifications need to be consisted of for factor to consider.Keep in mind: all sources for the discussion must be pointed out, consisting of images. Please see the area above for guidelines about making use of AI.

1. All submissions should be the initial work of the trainees.
2. Any graphics that are consisted of in your submission needs to fulfill availability requirements.
   • To make your files available and certified with Section 508, it’s essential to include detailed alt tags to all images, diagrams, and graphics. Alt tags supply text descriptions that help screen readers in communicating visual info to users with specials needs. When including alt tags, utilize clear and succinct language to explain the function and material of each image. In Microsoft Word, right-click the image, choose “Edit Alt Text,” and get in your description. This basic action guarantees everybody can gain access to and comprehend your material, despite their capabilities.
   • Alt Text Sample on a PC(right click over the image and a fall will appear, choose “examine ease of access homes and it will open the web inspector.”View Alt Text” choice. If you choose that alternative an “Alt Text” window opens with a grey box and directions for how to develop the alt tag.
   • Alt Text Sample on a Mac(right click over the image and a fall will appear, choose check ease of access homes and it will open the web inspector. There is a gray location that is highlighted. It is the place of the image alt tag in the code. You might require to click the gray arrow beside the word “image” in order to see the entire alt tag. To conceal the homes window click the X in the leading right corner of the window.

The technical discussion, utilizing PowerPoint or comparable, should consist of:

1. Title slide: Consist of Team name, school or company, and given name, last preliminary of each staff member(DO NOT INCLUDE LAST NAMES OF TEAM MEMBERS)
2. Identified design of the airport
3. Description of the modifications that were made to the airport to accommodate numerous fuel types
4. There need to be a concentrate on security, airport advantages, and any factors to consider of brand-new kinds of airplane that will be removing and landing from the airport.
5. The discussion can be taped with a story however is not needed. If there is no audio with the discussion, slides need to be self explanatory.

The group’s imaginative submission will be a discussion that promotes the advantages of the brand-new airport adjustment, permitting 2 various kinds of fuels to be made use of at the airport. The audience might be city or state management, shops thinking about purchasing a place at the airport, airline companies who might wish to now fly to this airport (this depends on you!). How you select to provide this ad for enhancements depends on you. It might be any of the following (or possibly you have another innovative concept):

1. Video
2. Sales brochure
3. Leaflet
4. Infographic
5. Industrial
6. Site
7. Other
8. Any videos, commercials, sites, or comparable will need you to supply a link to us (this can be done by connecting a Word file or PDF with a link or QR code to access the material); make certain we have the ability to gain access to those links to properly evaluate the task.

All intermediate school entries will be sent through the NASA Gateway link discovered INSERT GATEWAY LINK HERE and on the Dream with United States Design Challenge web page. All entries should consist of the following:

The following lessons and activities can be utilized to assist individuals discover more about airplane and airport style, together with other airplane factors to consider:

• Style Your Own X-Plane

• Call That Plane

• Prop Design Challenge

• X-Plane Glider Challenge

• Weighed Down Activity

• Utilizing Airplane Space Efficiently Activity

• Prioritize Your Flight Activity (9-12)

• Prioritize Your Flight Activity (5-8)
  • Prioritize Your Flight Pros/Cons worksheet

• FAA Airport Design Challenge

Do you require to discover more about research study on melted gas (LNG) as an air travel fuel source? Learn more here:

• AACES 2050
• Essential Experimental Tests and Modeling of LOX/CH4 Engines at High Pressures
• “As Jet Fuel Supplies Tighten, Can Other Fuels Meet Demand?”

Entries will be assessed by market professionals based upon effect, functionality, creativity, and how well the concept is interacted. Judges will make award choices based upon those requirements to figure out which jobs will be acknowledged.

Are you a teacher who requires to understand more about how to support a group or several groups? Are you a trainee needing to know more about how to get involved? Join us in October, when we will establish a mid-point check-in! Stay tuned for those dates to be launched on the Dream with United States style difficulty website.

Concerns:

If you have any extra concerns, please connect to the NASA Aeronautics STEM group at [email protected].

Dream With United States: High School Engineering Challenge

Dream With United States