2025-2026 DWU: Middle School Aviation Challenge

2025-2026 DWU: Middle School Aviation Challenge

Challenge Theme

AgAir: Integrating UAS into the Agriculture Industry

The agricultural industry is an important part of life in the US and around the world by providing food, fuel, economic development, and more. It has been increasingly important to strategically improve the agricultural industry to continue to provide for communities. Agriculture faces many challenges such as production delays, pests and disease, weather and climate impacts, and financial sustainability of the agricultural industry itself. To battle these challenges, the agriculture industry must adapt and grow innovatively by embracing new technology to become more resilient and more efficient.    

NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) focuses on integrating drones into the US national airspace system (NAS), with a focus on creating a system that is accessible, safe, and affordable. These smaller aircraft such as cargo-carrying drones and passenger-carrying air taxis will have the capability to serve often hard-to-reach urban and rural locations. The ACERO project is one of NASA’s missions researching the use of this technology to help emergency personnel respond to wildland fire disasters. With more and more aircraft including UAVs in the air, NASA’s Aircraft Operations and Safety Program (AOSP) research is vital to keeping airspace safe for everything in it and on the ground like people, livestock, and agriculture. 

The 2025/2026 Dream with Us Design Challenge is asking for your help with ideas about Integrating UAS into the Agriculture Industry. Student teams will focus on how to incorporate uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and drone technologies to make improvements in agricultural areas such as crop monitoring, production, resilience to pests and disease, weather, harvest, and other areas important to the agriculture industry and the participant.  

Challenge Description 

Middle school student teams of 2-4 members will create a new design or improve current capabilities of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) to improve areas of agriculture. Designs are conceptual and do not need to be created with any type of technical software, although it can be used if desired. Uses for the type of drone created can include:  

• monitor the health of crops and take samples 

• improve crop production 

• improve harvest capabilities 

• help agricultural resilience against climate and weather changes 

• or other areas important to agriculture or familiar to the participants. 

Build a presentation for a team of NASA experts that:

1. showcases the drone design, and
2. explains why the drone is needed, specific to your region or specific agricultural area, and
3. how the drone helps in one or multiple parts of the areas listed above.

In addition, each team will create a separate product to educate and inspire younger students. This project can be just about anything the team chooses, such as a video, a graphic novel, a poster—teams are only limited to what is shareable to judges and to team creativity! 

Teams will have access to STEM activities and resources that can be used to help create the project. Winning teams and their school will get the chance to meet a NASA expert to share how they contribute to current aeronautics challenges. Winning designs may also be shared on our social media platforms and more. 

Grade Eligibility

The middle school module is for students in grades 6 – 8. Students in grades 9 – 12 will use the high school module (for teams with both middle and high school-aged participants, teams will register as a high school team). See the Dream with Us main webpage for details. Optional, associated STEM activities for grades K – 12 that align with the theme will be available regardless of design challenge participation. 

Dates

Submissions for the Dream with Us: Middle School Aviation Challenge are accepted September 26 – December 31, 2025. Submission link: https://stemgateway.nasa.gov/s/course-offering/a0BSJ000004CSHZ/20252026-dream-with-us-design-challenge-middle-school-aviation-challenge. Winners will first be announced during a virtual awards reception (date TBD) then shared on social media and the Dream with Us design challenge webpage after the reception.

Challenge Rules

The 2025/2026 Dream with Us Design Challenge for middle and high school students opens September 26, 2025. The submission period for middle school entrants begins September 26, 2025, and concludes on December 31, 2025, at 11:59 pm ET. Schools, organizations, and community groups should communicate to parents and guardians that submissions are limited to one entry per team and team registration requires someone over the age of 13 to create the account (adult team sponsors may create the registration on the team’s behalf if desired). Entries must be submitted through the submission link on the Dream with Us Design Challenge webpage: https://www.nasa.gov/dream-with-us/. Signed permission forms from parents or legal guardians are required for all participants that agree to the terms and requirements listed below and on the submission form. 

Eligibility

The middle school challenge is open to all children in grades 6 – 8 who are attending public, private, parochial, and home schools in the United States of America and children of U.S. military members stationed overseas. There will be two separate judging categories: the middle school module is for participants in grades 6 – 8 and the high school module is for participants in grades 9 – 12. See the Dream with Us design challenge webpage for more information about the high school module. 

Requirements

• All submissions must be the original work of the students. 
• Students must be currently enrolled in grades 6 – 8 for the middle school module.
• Students must be currently enrolled in grades 9 – 12 for the high school module.
• The challenge is limited to one entry per team.
• Teams must include 2 – 4 student members for the middle school module.
• Signed submission forms must be completed by parents or legal guardians for each participant.
• Challenge submission presentations may include any of the following:
  • PowerPoint-type presentation 
  • Typed, written plan 
  • Video 
  • Brochure 
  • Flyer 
  • Infographic 
  • Commercial 
  • Website 
  • Other 

*Please note that any videos, commercials, websites, or similar will require you to provide a link to us; be sure we are able to access those links to accurately judge the project. 

Regardless of how else you choose to communicate your idea; you must also include a PowerPoint-type presentation that details how your drone improves the agricultural industry AND a project to share this message with younger kids. 

Presentation Requirements 

Every presentation will have two judging categories: technical and creative. Both categories must be included for consideration. The presentation must include the following information: 

1. Technical Category
   • Which area of the agricultural industry have you chosen to address? 
     • Why did you choose this area? Why is it important to you? 
     • Why is there a need for this type of drone to this particular area of agriculture? 
   • Details of how your drone helps this area of agriculture. 
   • Details about your drone 
     • Image or drawing of the drone 
     • Specifications and labeled parts of the drone 
     • How is it new or an improvement to current systems and/or technologies? Compare dream design to current designs. 
   • Can this drone help with other areas of agriculture?
     • If yes, explain how. 
     • If no, explain why not. 
2. Creative Category
   • Create a project that will teach elementary-aged kids about the agriculture industry and why drones can be useful.  
     • The activity must include the following information: 
       1.  Tell kids what your drone does. 
       2. How it helps the agriculture industry? 
       3. Why this is important? 
3. Images or artwork 
   • Submitted as a high-resolution image of original artwork.
   • Submitted in .jpg or .png format (minimum of 2,400 pixel on the longest edge).
4. BONUS It is optional to include the following information in your presentation.
   • Explain synergistic technologies (team and work relationships – advantages and disadvantages).

Submitting Entries

All middle school entries will be submitted through the NASA Gateway link found here and on the Dream with Us Design Challenge webpage. All entries must include the following: 

1. Signed permission form completed by parent or legal guardian of each student.  
2. Brief description with a title of your project, the first and last name of each team member, sponsor name, and an explanation of what the UAS does to benefit the agriculture industry. Must not exceed 250 words. 
3. Written work and presentation must be submitted in a PDF format. PDFs are limited to 10 MB. 
4. Artwork must be submitted as high-resolution images of the original artwork in .jpg or .png format (minimum of 2,400 pixels on the longest edge). 
5. Any included videos must be uploaded to YouTube with a “watch URL” link to be shared in your project presentation or in the brief description. 

Judging & Criteria 

Entries will be evaluated based on impact, practicality, originality, and how well the idea is communicated. Contest officials will then select the top submissions to a finalist panel. Those judges will make award selections based on the above-mentioned criteria to determine which projects will be recognized. 

Recognition 

All participants will receive a code that allows them to earn an “endorsement stamp” in the NASA Aeronautics Flight Log, which is available at https://www3.nasa.gov/flightlog/. In addition, select projects will be chosen to be highlighted and showcased through NASA social media, on our website, and in other locations as appropriate. Certificates and other recognition for select projects will also be made available. The selected project creators will be contacted individually using the email provided during registration and winners will be publicly announced on the Dream with Us Design Challenge webpage no later than March 1^st, 2026. Thank you for participating in the 2025 Dream with Us Design Challenge! 

Challenge Topic Descriptions 

Types of Agricultural Components  

Agriculture is the practice of farming to cultivate soil for crops and land to grow food and support livestock. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/explore/agriculture/   

• Production  
  • Growing crops and raising livestock to produce products for human consumption  
  • https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/topics/human-dimensions/agriculture-production  
• Efficiency  
  • To maximize agricultural output with fixed or limited amount of resources 
  • https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/acd/campaigns/farmflux   
• Resilience  
  • The ability to adapt and recover from stress caused by weather, climate, or other natural occurrences.  
  • https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/data-in-action/using-nasa-data-improve-climate-resilience-agriculture  
• Sustainability  
  • The ability to produce products long-term with minimal impact to the environment and conservation of natural resources. 
  • https://www.nasaacres.org/  
• Monitoring 
  • The use of technology to track the health and growth of agricultural areas to maintain production or address areas of concern 
  • https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 
• Etc. (others that directly affect the entrant) 

Types of Drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

A drone is an uncrewed/unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used to perform jobs with a drone pilot using a remote control, semi-autonomously or autonomously. Small drones can be used for observation, mapping, or package delivery, while larger air taxis will have the capability to transport people. Uncrewed/unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is the term that emphasizes drones as a system and not just the vehicle. For more information about uncrewed/unmanned aircraft systems, head to https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170011510/downloads/20170011510.pdf. 

• Multicopters 
  • Small UAV that uses multiple propellers to fly. Using Newton’s 3^rd law: the propellers action pushes air downward causing an upward force (lift) reaction against gravity causing the quadcopter to move up. The number of propellers names the copter: 4 propellers = Quadcopter, 6 propellers = Hexacopter, and so on.
  • https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/aam-science-behind-quadcopters-reader-student-guide_0.pdf?emrc=8caa02 
• Rotorcraft 
  • Aircraft that uses one or more rotary wing to generate lift.
  • https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/uas-appendix.pdf?emrc=60b6fb
• Sm/Med/Lg Fixed Wing 
  • Familiar 3-segment design with longer endurance than Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs.
  • https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LAR-TOPS-293
• Air taxi 
  • Larger VTOL aircraft that can carry people relatively short distances
  • https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/armstrong/nasa-studies-human-pilots-to-advance-autonomous-air-taxis/
• Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) 
  • Autonomous vehicles used to carry people that rely on vertical take-off and landing capabilities.
  • https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/aam-air-taxi-design-challenge-educator-guide_0.pdf?emrc=c0b9bf 

Resources

• Advanced Air Mobility
• Airspace Operations and Safety Program
• System-Wide Safety Project
• Smart Skies
• NASA Spinoff
• How to Register Your Drone
• Remote Identification of Drones (“digital license plate”)
• Trust Certificate (any drones)
• NASA STEM Careers in Aeronautics
• The Quiet Crew
• Activities 
  • Package Delivery Drone Simulation 
  • Attack of the Drones
  • Air Taxi Design Challenge
  • Determining the Center of Gravity
  • The Science Behind Quadcopters
  • Flight Control Math 1 Graphing 
  • Flight Control Math 2 Using the Distance Formula 
  • Flight Control Math 3 Using Distance Formula & Speed Formulas 
  • Flight Control Math 4 Using the Pythagorean Theorem
  • Flight Control Math 5 Finding the Equation of a Line and the Point of Intersection for Two Lines
  • Drone Safety Poster Activity
  • Sensor Solutions 
  • Propelling the Payload with Electric Propulsion
  • Build an Anemometer
• Videos
  • Dream with Us video
  • What is AAM?
  • NASA Flight – What is AAM?
  • Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Playbook Video Series
  • NASA STEM Stars: Project Manager, Roberto Navarro (en español)
  • NASA STEM Stars: Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Michael J. Logan
  • How UAS Impacts the Future
  • NASA STEM Stars: Chief Pilot and Model Lab Operations Engineer, Robert “Red” Jensen
  • NASA STEM Stars: Principal Investigator of UAM Airspace Theory, David Zahn
  • NASA UTM: A Giant Leap for Air Transportation
  • Making Skies Safe for Unmanned Aircraft
• Literacy 
  • Red Jensen: UAS Technician
  • Maria Caballero: Consulting Engineer
  • What is Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management?
  • AAM Bookmark
  • NASA Tests Tools to Assess Drone Safety Over Cities
• For Educators 
  • Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) STEM Toolkit
  • Disasters Toolkit
  • NASA’s Eyes on Extreme Weather
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems
  • AAM STEM Learning Module
  • UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Project

Educator Professional Developments 

A Dream with Us virtual educator professional development webinar will be scheduled for October 2025 that will include details about the challenge and how to apply. Stay tuned for those dates to be released on the Dream with Us design challenge webpage. A separate session will also be scheduled for student teams, to help them better understand the challenge, learn the requirements for applying, and ask questions.

Questions 

If you have any additional questions, please reach out to the NASA Aeronautics STEM team at aeroSTEM@nasa.onmicrosoft.com. 

Dream with Us: Middle School Aviation Challenge

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