Participants must FIRST purchase your Plant the Moon or Plant Mars kits on https://plantthemoon.com/register-now/. Once you have purchased a kit for the Fall Season, you should then setup your team here to access the Project Guide and get other information about the grow season and project process.
The Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenge is a global science experiment, learning activity and inspirational project-based-learning challenge to see who can grow the best crops using lunar and Martian regolith simulant. NASA's Artemis Program is the United States' new initiative to first return to the Moon as a stepping stone human exploration of Mars. The Artemis program, will explore more of the lunar surface than ever before. However, having humans on the Moon is challenging in many ways. One of those challenges is how you will feed your crew. Bringing all of the food and water with you that is needed for long-duration human missions becomes a problem as your mission duration and mission size expands. Using the local resources on the Moon itself could lead to great advancements in our capabilities to explore our celestial neighbor. Understanding how we can use lunar soils to grow crops for future human missions is one of the next great steps in supporting our return to the Moon! And learning the biological capabilities of martian soil may help sustain human life on Mars! Help NASA scientists and the academic community at large learn the best lunar crop conditions by completing your own Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenge project and sharing your results with the world! The Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Challenge is a student activity and competition to see who can grow the best crops using regolith simulant. Participants will be sent a Plant the Moon and Plant Mars Activity Kit including lunar and/or martian regolith simulant, a Project Guide and a pH paper. Teams will use the Project Guide to define their own plant growth experiments using the simulant. Students will define their own experiment parameters such as the structure of the plant growth setup, amount of water used, and nutrients or fertilizer added to the regolith simulant to help support plant growth. Projects will be evaluated based on review of their experimental setup and the results of their plant growth. Teams will submit photos (optional videos), and an experiment report. Best-in-show awards will be provided to teams with the best plant growth results and experimental design.Competition Process
Each team of students will receive a Plant the Moon or Plant Mars soil simulant package from the University of Central Florida's CLASS Exolith Laboratory. The lunar and martian soil simulants are specially designed to mimic the soil of the moon and mars, respectively, in chemistry, composition, grain size, and density. Students will also receive a Project Guide from the Institute of Competition Sciences. Following the project guide, you will create your own experiment to examine important variables related to plant growth in the simulant. Results from your experiment will be shown to NASA scientists and our scientific evaluators to select best in show projects!Judging Criteria
See competition website: https://plantthemoon.com/best-in-show/Awards & Recognition
Best in Show - HS & College
This award counts toward these ICS Academic Badges.
The Data Analysis badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to process, interpret, visualize, and draw meaningful conclusions from complex datasets. Associated skills: Use statistical tools to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies; create clear charts and graphs; present evidence-based recommendations; clean data to ensure accuracy.
The Critical Thinking badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to evaluate complex problems, challenge assumptions, adapt to new information, and devise logical solutions. Associated skills: Document decision-making throughout a project; provide a detailed breakdown of results; analyze points of failure and adapt to setbacks; develop innovative ways to communicate or display information.
The Experimental Design badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to plan and execute high-quality scientific investigations. This badge demonstrates knowledge in identifying important scientific questions, developing experimental protocols, isolating variables, and implementing operational procedures. Associated skills: Formulate valid hypotheses and design repeatable experiments; plan and execute scientific investigations; maintain a control system to validate testing; account for environmental and human error factors.
The Technical Writing badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to document complex concepts, processes, and conclusions with clarity and precision. Associated skills: Author an exemplary project report; adhere to formatting and citation guidelines; develop replicable manuals or procedures; communicate findings in a research-based essay; integrate graphs and visualizations to effectively display data.
The Aerospace badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to apply science, engineering, and innovation to the challenges of flight and space exploration. The badge includes recognition from aerospace competitions covering lunar and planetary science, space systems engineering, mission concept development, and the commercialization of aerospace technology. Associated skills: Apply knowledge of the space environment to engineering and science problems; use in-situ resources to overcome mission constraints; conduct and document experiments relevant to human space exploration; translate aerospace research and technology into real-world applications.
Best In Show - Middle
This award counts toward these ICS Academic Badges.
The Data Analysis badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to process, interpret, visualize, and draw meaningful conclusions from complex datasets. Associated skills: Use statistical tools to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies; create clear charts and graphs; present evidence-based recommendations; clean data to ensure accuracy.
The Critical Thinking badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to evaluate complex problems, challenge assumptions, adapt to new information, and devise logical solutions. Associated skills: Document decision-making throughout a project; provide a detailed breakdown of results; analyze points of failure and adapt to setbacks; develop innovative ways to communicate or display information.
The Experimental Design badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to plan and execute high-quality scientific investigations. This badge demonstrates knowledge in identifying important scientific questions, developing experimental protocols, isolating variables, and implementing operational procedures. Associated skills: Formulate valid hypotheses and design repeatable experiments; plan and execute scientific investigations; maintain a control system to validate testing; account for environmental and human error factors.
The Technical Writing badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to document complex concepts, processes, and conclusions with clarity and precision. Associated skills: Author an exemplary project report; adhere to formatting and citation guidelines; develop replicable manuals or procedures; communicate findings in a research-based essay; integrate graphs and visualizations to effectively display data.
The Aerospace badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to apply science, engineering, and innovation to the challenges of flight and space exploration. The badge includes recognition from aerospace competitions covering lunar and planetary science, space systems engineering, mission concept development, and the commercialization of aerospace technology. Associated skills: Apply knowledge of the space environment to engineering and science problems; use in-situ resources to overcome mission constraints; conduct and document experiments relevant to human space exploration; translate aerospace research and technology into real-world applications.
Best In Show - Elementary
This award counts toward these ICS Academic Badges.
The Data Analysis badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to process, interpret, visualize, and draw meaningful conclusions from complex datasets. Associated skills: Use statistical tools to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies; create clear charts and graphs; present evidence-based recommendations; clean data to ensure accuracy.
The Critical Thinking badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to evaluate complex problems, challenge assumptions, adapt to new information, and devise logical solutions. Associated skills: Document decision-making throughout a project; provide a detailed breakdown of results; analyze points of failure and adapt to setbacks; develop innovative ways to communicate or display information.
The Experimental Design badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to plan and execute high-quality scientific investigations. This badge demonstrates knowledge in identifying important scientific questions, developing experimental protocols, isolating variables, and implementing operational procedures. Associated skills: Formulate valid hypotheses and design repeatable experiments; plan and execute scientific investigations; maintain a control system to validate testing; account for environmental and human error factors.
The Technical Writing badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to document complex concepts, processes, and conclusions with clarity and precision. Associated skills: Author an exemplary project report; adhere to formatting and citation guidelines; develop replicable manuals or procedures; communicate findings in a research-based essay; integrate graphs and visualizations to effectively display data.
The Aerospace badge is awarded to students who earn recognition in competitions that demonstrate their ability to apply science, engineering, and innovation to the challenges of flight and space exploration. The badge includes recognition from aerospace competitions covering lunar and planetary science, space systems engineering, mission concept development, and the commercialization of aerospace technology. Associated skills: Apply knowledge of the space environment to engineering and science problems; use in-situ resources to overcome mission constraints; conduct and document experiments relevant to human space exploration; translate aerospace research and technology into real-world applications.
Participate
Website: https://plantthemoon.com
Managing Organization: Institute of Competition Sciences
Participants can form teams of 1 to 10 students. Elementary and Middle School students participate in the Primary Division, students from 9-12 grade participate in the Secondary Division, and students in university participate in the College Division. Students from anywhere throughout the world can participate. Additionally, adults are allowed to participate in their own special division for professional experiments.