Hosting Organization: Jersey Shore STEM Ecosystem
County: Ocean
On March 15, 2025, 20 students from across New Jersey gathered at Toms River High School North to take part in the East Coast Space Design Competition—a high-intensity, industry simulation event designed to challenge and inspire the next generation of STEM leaders.
In this immersive experience, students assumed professional roles and tackled real-world, industry-specific challenges. With guidance from experienced mentors, they collaborated to design a futuristic space settlement and present their solution to a panel of industry experts. Winners from this regional event will advance to the international finals at Kennedy Space Center this July.
This year’s challenge was based on a Request for Proposal (RFP) that asked student teams to design a vehicle capable of supporting long-term surface exploration on Mars, with the goal of identifying ideal locations for a future Martian settlement. Teams had just eight hours to develop a proposal and deliver a 25-minute presentation, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session, using no more than 30 slides to explain their design.
The event was made even more impactful thanks to a team of incredible mentors, including two Rutgers University students majoring in Electrical Engineering and Aerospace/Physics, a NASA engineer, a Boeing engineer, the 2023 Arizona State Teacher of the Year, the 2023 New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, a local architect, a retired IT specialist, an engineer from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, a local structural engineer from the Ocean County Society of Professional Engineers, and the President of the New Jersey Academy of Sciences.
The East Coast Space Design Competition continues to offer students a unique opportunity to engage in authentic STEM problem-solving, gain mentorship from professionals, and explore future careers in science and engineering on a truly interplanetary scale.