The Build the Moon Challenge (BTMC) is a hands-on STEM competition produced by the Institute of Competition Sciences (ICS) in collaboration with the Iowa Space Grant Consortium and NASA. Student teams in middle school and high school receive a physical kit containing lunar regolith simulant engineered to mimic properties found on the Moon, then develop their own concrete mixture and design a lunar habitat for future long-duration missions.
What teams do:
- Experiment with 4 kg of lunar regolith simulant to develop a concrete mixture
- Test the strength and properties of their concrete
- Design a lunar habitat for future Moon missions using what they've learned
- Submit three milestone tasks online: demographics survey (Task 1), midpoint updates (Task 2), and final submission (Task 3)
Program structure:
Each kit ($449 per team, plus shipping, up to 10 students) includes 4 kg of lunar regolith simulant, silicone brick and landing pad molds, piping supplies, and N95 masks and nitrile gloves. All submissions are made electronically through the ICS online platform. Teams participate in Opening and Closing Symposia and optional office hours throughout the season.
Funding:
NASA's Space Grant Consortia offer grant funding for participating teams in eligible U.S. states. Grant applications open each summer; check btmc.competitionsciences.org for the current cycle's grant application period.
Fall 2026 timeline:
- Registration closes: September 13, 2026 (international: August 30, 2026)
- Opening Symposium: September 30, 2026
- Task 1 (Team Demographics) due: October 4, 2026
- Task 2 (Midpoint Updates) due: October 25, 2026
- Task 3 (Final Submissions) due: November 15, 2026
- Closing Symposium: December 9, 2026