Calling all K-12 Starfleet cadets! We hope you’re hungry for innovation because Star Trek and NASA want you to “boldly go where no one has gone before” and engineer the future of food in space.

The Future Engineers Star Trek Replicator contest asks students 5 to 19 to create a digital 3-D model of a non-edible, food-related item for astronauts living aboard the International Space Station in the year 2050 to 3-D print.

Eating a meal in space involves more than the actual food itself – from growing plants to preparing and eating meals. (Check out NASA’s history of space food.) 

There are many things to consider, so check out our Rules Summary and Design Guidelines prior to starting your design.

The program launched on February 16 and submissions are due May 1, 2016.

Prizes include a trip to New York to see the Space Shuttle Enterprise with an astronaut and a 3-D printer for the school. The site also features videos about 3-D printing applications from Teddy Bear manufacturing to printing human body parts.

Filed under: Competitions and Contests, K-12 Outreach Programs

Tags: 3-D printing, ASME, Competitions for Students, Contest, food, Future Engineers, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, NASA, Resources for Teachers, Space, STEM education