Moon Camp Challenge 2026
European Space Agency (ESA)
About the Event
Moon Camp Challenge 2026, officially the Moon Camp 2025–2026 edition, is a global STEM and space-design challenge where students create a future habitat for humans on the Moon, Mars, or other locations in the Solar System. Students can use digital tools, hands-on models, robotics, 3D design, 3D printing, scientific experiments, or game-based worlds to present their idea. The challenge is open worldwide, including Indian students, and is designed for students up to 19 years old.
ℹ️ Event Details
- Mode of conduct: Online submission through the Moon Camp platform.
- Theme: Design a space habitat for astronauts on the Moon, Mars, or beyond.
- Format: Open-format project; teams can submit arts & crafts, 3D design, 3D printing, robotics, immersive/game-based worlds, scientific experiments, or other space-habitat-related projects.
- Submission requirements: Teams must submit a short project description, at least one image/screenshot, and optionally a link to a video, website, article, or paper.
- Language: Projects can be submitted in any language, though English is suggested to avoid translation errors.
- Event type: Non-competitive educational challenge; valid submissions receive recognition instead of ranked prizes.
📅 Important Dates
- Submissions opened: 11 September 2025.
- Early certificate deadline: 20 April 2026.
- ESA expert webinar: 12 February 2026.
- Virtual event with ESA astronaut: June 2026.
- Final submission deadline: 27 July 2026, 23:59 CEST.
- Current status: Registrations/submissions are still open as of 12 June 2026.
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligibility: Open worldwide to individuals or teams of students aged up to and including 19 years old.
- Team support: Each team must be supported by a teacher, educator, or parent, who submits the project.
- Student status: Participants should be full-time school students, certified home-school students, or members of a social club enrolled full-time in school.
- Not eligible: Students attending tertiary/post-secondary institutions are not eligible.
- Project originality: The team must be the sole author/owner of the submitted materials; copyrighted third-party content is not allowed without permission.
- AI use rule: Core design work must be student-created using non-AI tools. AI may be used only for support, such as improving grammar or adding clearly traceable visuals, and must be declared during submission.
- Evaluation/checking process: ESA checks each submission after it is submitted. If it follows the rules and guidelines, it is published in the Project Gallery and certificates are issued.
- Rejection rules: Submissions can be rejected if they include illegal, political, sensitive, harmful, obscene, personal, copyrighted, or rule-breaking content.
🏆 Benefits for the Participants
- Participation certificate: Every valid team receives an ESA participation certificate.
- Project showcase: Valid projects are published in the official Moon Camp Project Gallery.
- Astronaut event invitation: Valid teams are invited to a final online event with an ESA astronaut.