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Institute of Competition Sciences

Institute of Competition Sciences

Build the Moon Challenge

OpenEngineeringScienceCompetition

About the Program

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 participating US-state Space Grant Consortia offer support for eligible teams. The official funding page says Fall 2026 applications are closed; its timeline lists July 6 opening and August 16 cutoff. Exact award amounts and coverage of shipping or other costs were not verified. No future annual application dates are assumed.

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

Checked November 4, 2026: The official registration page explicitly says Fall 2026 registration closed, and grant funding page says that cycle’s aid applications closed. The timeline distinguishes June 1 registration opening, August 30 international registration cutoff and September 13 general registration cutoff, alongside the August 16 grant cutoff. Task 1 and 2 dates are past; November 15 final submission and December 9 closing symposium remain upcoming. These are distinct tasks/events, not a single inferred ten-week attendance span. Next-season dates are unknown.

The rules use middle/high-school enrollment rather than hard ages 11–18. Any schooling type/country is allowed, with an adult coach, up to ten students, and only one team per student in a cohort. Under-13 students may participate but cannot hold platform accounts. All coaches must register as users; middle-school team registration must be completed by an adult coach. New seasons require new kit/registration and current-season work. The verified US$449 team fee excludes shipping; available grants do not establish automatic full-cost funding.

Eligibility

Official rules require middle- or high-school enrollment during the participation academic year, any country and any schooling type, up to 10 students per team, an adult coach and no more than one team per student per cohort. The rules give school levels rather than hard ages 11–18. Each season requires new registration/kit purchase. Students under 13 may participate but may not hold ICS platform accounts; coach registration rules apply.

Eligible Countries

All countries

How to Apply

The official registration page explicitly says Fall 2026 registration closed. Its general window was June 1–September 13, 2026; the timeline separately gives August 30 international cutoff and August 16 grant cutoff. Registered teams submit required tasks via ICS, with final work due November 15, 2026. Adult coaches must have accounts; middle-school team registration must be completed by the adult coach. No future season dates or cutoff clock/timezone were verified.