About the Program

About Terps in Space

Terps in Space is an undergraduate research program where teams from across the University System of Maryland design a microgravity experiment of their choice and write a research proposal to compete to send their experiment to the International Space Station (ISS). We are funded by the International Space Station (ISS) National Lab for this year’s iteration of the program. Students compete by writing experiment proposals to test the effect of microgravity on the phenomenon of their choice. Only one proposal is selected for flight. This is a real scientific competition. The winning team will get to prepare their experiment in the lab for launch to low Earth orbit on the ISS. The experiment design constraints are presented to students in a structured fashion through mentorship. The experiment will spend 4 to 6 weeks in microgravity and return to the students for analysis. Teams consist of 2 to 4 students. You can sign up as a team, or as an individual and we will assign you to a team. Research mentors are assigned to each team and will give weekly advice on proposal writing and experiment design. Terps in Space provides an opportunity for students to gain real-world research experience by proposing and designing microgravity experiments that compete for a chance to be sent to the International Space Station!

 

FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS

Student teams of 2-5 (*preferred 4 max) work with a mentor to design and propose an experiment. This will occur in tandem with the UMCP spring semester. This involves literature research, experiment planning, and gathering preliminary data. Perform preliminary experiments (as applicable) to strengthen your proposal. Write the 8-page experiment proposal between January 24 and April 30. Meet weekly with your research mentor. [~3 months] In May, three finalist teams will be selected. Note: Non-finalist teams will conclude their participation in the program having gained a semester of independent, student-driven research experience.

  • January 24, 2022: Tentative date of orientation and info session (student teams are briefed about the details of the experiment + proposal)

  • January 31, 2022: Program begins

  • March, 2022: Mid-program check-in

  • April 30, 2022: Proposals due for review and selection of finalists

  • May TBD, 2022: Terps in Space internal mini-conference where teams present their research. An opportunity to network with other students and their mentors as well as learning about new topics. This accolade marks the end of the competition and documents students achievements online.

  • June 1, 2022: Three proposals are selected as finalists to be reviewed by National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE)

 

FOR THE THREE SEMI-FINALISTS ONLY

  • June to November 2022: The three semi-finalist teams will have time to further develop their proposals and, optionally, do preliminary experiments. Revise your proposal based on reviewers’ comments and perform optimization/preliminary experiment before sending it to NCESSE for selection. In December, the winning team will be selected.

  • June to December 2022: Three finalists teams can optimize experiments and revise their proposals

  • December TBD, 2022: Three finalist proposal revisions due

  • December TBD, 2022: One proposal is selected to fly to ISS

 

ONLY FOR THE WINNING TEAM

  • Mid-December 2022: Revise your proposal based on reviewers’ comments. Depending on your experiment, you might have to optimize quantities and other aspects of your proposed experiment [~1-2 weeks].

  • Winter/Spring 2023: The winning team will conduct lab work to optimize their proposed experiment, and then load their experiment and ship it to be flown to the ISS. Set up your experiment in the lab and ship it for flight to ISS [~1 month]

  • Spring 2023 (barring launch delays): Experiment due for ferry to ISS

  • Summer/Fall 2023 (Launch + 4 to 6 weeks): Experiment returns from space and winning student team analyze and report results [~1-2 months]. Additionally, the winning team may attend the SSEP conference in Washington, D.C. and present results for an undergraduate citation.