Nevada Space Design Challenge
📅 November 6–7, 2026
📍 UNLV · Las Vegas, NV
🎟️ $225 per participant
Compete Now
Design a habitat for the next generation of space explorers.
The Nevada Space Design Challenge is a Stellr flagship event held at UNLV in Las Vegas. Student teams are tasked with designing a sustainable habitat for long-duration space missions — integrating engineering, life sciences, resource management, and human factors.
Working under time pressure and guided by industry mentors from aerospace and engineering backgrounds, teams will present a fully reasoned design to a panel of expert judges. The challenge is multi-disciplinary by design — there is no single right answer, and teams are judged on the quality of their reasoning as much as their final solution.
What’s Included
- Annual Stellr Membership for students and teachers
- 2027 limited edition Stellr Community t-shirt
- All event materials and facility access
- Meals and snacks
- Opportunity to progress to the 2027 International Student Engineering Congress, held at NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX) in summer 2027
How the Challenge Works
- 1Student participants arrive and are formed into their ‘engineering companies’.
- 2Each company is briefed on the event engineering challenge and receives a Request For Proposal (RFP) setting out the requirements they need to respond to.
- 3Participants are then guided through their designs, working under time, communication, and information pressures.
- 4Each engineering company presents its design before a panel of judges.
- 5Awards are presented — to the winning company, and to exceptional individuals, who receive an invitation to our culminating event in the summer of 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should my team bring on the day?▾
All competition material is provided, along with snacks and meals. Bring pens, notebooks, and general school work material. We recommend bringing a laptop or tablet if you have access to one — you will not be disadvantaged if you don’t.
How are teams structured?▾
Both individual students and groups (from 2–12 students) can register. Student participants are formed into ‘engineering companies’ when they arrive at the event.
What if I can’t afford to attend?▾
If you wish to attend but can’t afford the fees, please look at our scholarship page.
This seems like a really challenging activity! What are the preparation expectations?▾
Nothing! No, really, nothing! All our challenges are designed for students to arrive and compete with no preparation activities or prior work. Important note: some of our events offer optional pre-work activities for teachers. These are NOT mandatory, and don’t impart any benefit on students who may participate in the pre-work.
What are the expectations for teachers and chaperones?▾
You don’t need to be a specialist engineer or scientist to support students attending our events! If you’re bringing a team, we ask that you stay at the event venue for the duration, and you can participate if you wish. Otherwise you’re free to catch up on marking, do more lesson planning, or sit quietly in a corner!
How does transportation and event logistics work?▾
All participants are responsible for making their own way to and from the event venue. We fully understand the tyranny of distance — regardless of whether you’re a regional school or having to travel across a metro area! If you need to arrive late, or depart early, please get in touch and we’ll make it work.
How does registration and invoicing work?▾
Register using the Individual or Group buttons above. As you progress through the registration process, there are options for immediate online payment, to be issued a single invoice, or for group members to pay themselves. Any issues, let us know!
What happens if I can’t attend after registering?▾
Please notify us as soon as possible. Review our Terms of Service for specifics.