Home » Education Programs » Innovation Gateway » Design and Build a Rocket
This challenge is no longer active and has been completed. Submissions are no longer being accepted.
Be part of the NASA mission. Compete in a new series of challenges through our Innovation Gateway, a community science initiative. Everyday explorers – just like you – have the opportunity to provide useful solutions to further space exploration and our world.
Did you know some of the first rockets were lit around 2,000 years ago? Gunpowder and bamboo tubes were used in Chinese religious celebrations in the first century A.D. As time went on, different cultures built on the original idea to make bigger and faster rockets that were also more versatile. When Dr. Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the first liquid fueled rocket in 1926, everything changed. Switching to liquid fuel granted us control over the rocket’s trajectory and power that would eventually lead to the start of the space race.
Rockets have played a significant role in NASA’s ability to explore and research our universe. From the space race that put the first American in space to landing rovers on Mars, rockets are the backbone of many NASA missions. NASA continues to make more powerful rockets that will soon take us back to the Moon and allow us to take the first human steps on Martian soil.
Everyone who submits an entry for this challenge will receive a certificate of completion. Challenge winners can select from two general admission tickets to Space Center Houston or asking a question to an astronaut during our Virtual Campout program.
Level 1: Design and create a rocket that launches with air or water pressure.
Level 2: Design and create a rocket that uses a chemical reaction to launch. (Do not use any reactions that produce fire or anything else that is similarly dangerous.)
Helpful hints for all levels:
This challenge has passed. Submissions are no longer being accepted.
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