Join TMG At The Humans To Mars Summit May 8 – 10 2018| Discount Code

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humans to mars summit 2018We are happy to announce we are continuing our partnership with Explore Mars for a third year in a row and will be participating in their Humans To Mars Summit in Washington, D.C. May 8-10th. We are excited to announce several TMG leaders are participating as part of the event:

  • May 8, 2018: Listening To The Mars Generation Panel with TMG Student Space Ambassador Board Members: Brittany Wedd, Morgan Irons and Aaron Shepard.
  • May 10, 2018: Viral Mars: Social Media and Space Exploration with TMG Vice President, Nicole Harrison serving as moderator.
  • May 10, 2018: Why Mars: A Boisterous Discussion With Space Luminaries panel with TMG founder and president, Astronaut Abby.
  • May 10, 2018: Capital Hill Briefing Panel moderated by TMG founder and president, Astronaut Abby.

We have a special 15% discount code for everyone in our community. Discount code: TMGmars

TMG members get 25% off the conference. Please email groudsupport@themarsgeneration.org to get your special discount code. If you would like to become a member to get this and other discount codes go to our membership page: http://themarsgeneration.org/membership/

Want to learn a little more? Watch the video of Astronaut Abby with Ellen Stefan (former NASA Chief Scientist) in a discussion about women paving the path to Mars at the Humans to Mars conference last year here:

This is an exciting event you do not want to miss! Visit http://h2m.exploremars.org/ and sign-up today.

The Mars Generation Joins Kennedy Space Center’s Summer of Mars [VIDEO]

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We are honored that The Mars Generation was invited to be part of the Kennedy Space Center’s Summer of Mars events! On August 5, 2017 our founder, Astronaut Abby made an appearance at the Kennedy Space Center as a special guest speaker to talk about our nonprofit and our important work at The Mars Generation. Watch to learn more about how The Mars Generation was founded and our important work!

To learn more about The Mars Generation, be sure to sign up for updates and also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google +! Onward to Mars!

Join Us At The Human To Mars Conference May 9-11 2017

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We are excited to be partnering with Explore Mars for their Human To Mars conference in Washington, D.C. May 9-11th for a second year. Our founder and leader, Astronaut Abby will be speaking at the conference on May 9, 2017, and you can come hear her speak.

We have a special 15% discount code for everyone in our community Discount code: TMGMars

TMG members get 25% off the conference. Please email groudsupport@themarsgeneration.org to get your special discount code. if you would like to become a member to get this and other discount codes go to our membership page: http://themarsgeneration.org/membership/

Want to learn a little more? Watch the video of Astronaut Abby’s presentation at the conference last year here:

This is an exciting event you do not want to miss, visit http://h2m.exploremars.org/ and sign-up today.

NASA Orion Parachute Test 2017: The Mars Generation Reports

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NASA Orion Parachute test

Photo by NASA

We are thrilled to have had The Mars Generation member Jeff Herold onsite at the NASA 2017 ET and join us as a guest writer.

Please visit our “Get Involved” page to learn more about how you can volunteer and/or join The Mars Generation. Let’s go to Mars!

*** Please note guest submissions are options of the author and do not necessarily reflect the mission or beliefs of The Mars Generation.

Experiencing the Parachute Test

On Tuesday, March 7th, 2017, I drove three hours from Phoenix to Yuma with my friend, Perry the Peregrine (@STEMFalcon). We shared a room for the night and woke up very early on Wednesday to meet Chuck Wullenjohn, Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, and Laura Rochon, NASA Johnson Space Center Public Relations Officer. As a member of the press representing The Mars Generation, I was among other local and regional reporters, including a Canadian group working for the Discovery Channel.

Mr. Wullenjohn briefed our group with some Dos and Don’ts, and even shared how unique the Yuma Proving Ground is due to its size. It is over 1,300 square miles in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and includes a wildlife preserve in the middle of it. What makes the Yuma Proving Ground different from other proving grounds around the world is that the restricted airspace extends all the way to outer space! That means high-altitude tests can be done without interference from commercial aircraft flying overhead.

My first interview was with Dustin Neill, engineer from Lockheed Martin, who was very eager to share his passion for the Orion program and his team’s role in developing and testing the parachute system. He loved answering the questions sent on behalf of The Mars Generation and gave some details on what the parachute systems were made of and how they worked.

Former Navy test pilot and current Commander in the U.S. Navy, Victor Glover is a member of the newest astronaut group for NASA. He was enthusiastic about the Journey to Mars and also answered some questions sent to The Mars Generation. These questions mostly concerned challenges Orion may face during its missions as well as what parachute improvements have been made for Orion over the past few years.

After a couple of test flyovers, a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, which is a large military transport aircraft, released the Orion capsule mockup at about 25,000 feet. The capsule reached speeds of about 130 mph, deployed several sets of drogue chutes and the main parachutes, before landing gently on the ground.

I was able to get very close to the capsule and parachutes after the initial check by the recovery team. It was an amazing sight to see the Orion perched on a slight angle with the giant parachutes stretched out in front of it. Dozens of engineers were there to take measurements, collect computer data, and eventually roll up the parachutes to be used for a future test.

This experience was unlike anything I’ve seen before and I am honored to have been representing The Mars Generation on this historic day of the Orion parachute drop test.

 

STEM Jeff HeadshotJeff Herold is in his 17th year of teaching. He has taught everything from kindergarten through 12th grade and community college. Currently, he teaches S.T.E.M. to 7th and 8th graders at Hillcrest Middle School in Glendale, Arizona. While not volunteering at local elementary schools at their science nights, he enjoys paragliding, attending professional development, and spending time with his family. His favorite student is his 6th grade son, Skyler.

Jeff is the 2015 Arizona Air Force Association Teacher of the Year and 2015 Arizona Challenger Space Center Educator of the Year. Jeff is a member of The Mars Generation Student Space Ambassador Planning Committee and the Train Like a Martian Planning Committee. You can follow his S.T.E.M. adventures on Twitter @STEMJeff.

Live Twitter #MarsChat: Give to Mars Day 2016

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We are so excited to be hosting our annual Give to Mars Day event and Potato Challenge for the second year on November 17, 2016. The annual Potato Challenge and Give to Mars Day are such an exciting events that bring awareness to the importance of STEM education and human deep space exploration to people all over the world, while also raising funds to support our programs at The Mars Generation including sending kids with economic need to Space Camp on unique 100% paid scholarships that include transportation.

You can follow the live stream of the event by following the hashtag #PotatoChallenge here.

We are excited be continuing in our tradition of holding a #MarsChat on Twitter

Our founder Astronaut Abby will be hosting the chat and answering questions too! But this year we thought why host one chat when we can host 3! Follow the #MarsChat hashtag at the following times and feel free to submit questions for each of our guests during the chat:

1:00pm CST Astronaut Abby with special guest Joe Cassidy, Executive Director of Space Programs Aerojet Rocketdyne, Twitter: @MarsJoe (see bio below)

6:00PM CST Astronaut Abby with special guest Morgan Irons, Duke University undergraduate student and founder of Deep Space Ecology, LLC,  and a leader of The Mars Generation Student Space Ambassador Program Twitter:@dukemorganmars (see bio below)

8:30PM CST Astronaut Abby with special guest Andrew Rader PhD, Aerospace Engineer at Space X, Twitter: @marsrader (see bio below)

Join us for a fun Q&A, and have the opportunity to ask some of your own questions.

Astronaut Abby, Founder of The Mars Generation, aspiring scientist and astronaut 

Who Is The Mars GenerationAbigail Harrison, a.k.a. Astronaut Abby, is a sophomore at Wellesley College. She is studying Astro-Biology and Russian and working toward becoming a scientist and eventually a NASA astronaut. 

Five years ago, Abby began sharing her dream of becoming one of the first astronauts to Mars online and today she has built a community of more than a half million followers and fans who support her dream and the dreams of many other amazing young people. To expand this community of support, Abby established a worldwide outreach initiative to engage students across the world about space, STEM and reaching for one’s dreams. She turned this outreach program into The Mars Generation (themarsgeneration.org) – a nonprofit with a goal to serve as a catalyst to identify students with an interest in these areas and nurture their study in STEM education. 

Abby is recognized as a leader in the space community, working as a space ambassador herself with a focus on educating and exciting people around the world about the importance of space exploration to the future of humankind.  To find Abby, visit her website at www.AstronautAbby.com

 

Joe Cassidy, Executive Director of Space Programs Aerojet Rocketdyne

joe-cassady-aerojet-rocketdyneJoe Cassady is the Executive Director of Space Programs in the Washington DC Operations for Aerojet Rocketdyne, where he helps oversee strategy development and architectures for future space and launch systems. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Purdue University as well as a Graduate Certificate in Systems Engineering at the George Washington University. He has 33 years of experience in propulsion and mission and systems analysis, and has authored more than 50 technical papers dealing with electric propulsion, power and attitude control systems and mission analysis. His experience includes flight projects for both the U.S. Air Force and NASA. In addition, he has served on a number of advisory groups for NASA and the Department of Defense. He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA; vice-president of the Electric Rocket Propulsion Society; and serves on the board of directors for ExploreMars, a non-profit dedicated to STEM and human Mars exploration.

Morgan Irons, Founder of Deep Space Ecology LLC

morgan-irons

 

Morgan Irons is a senior at Duke University, majoring in environmental science and biology with a chemistry minor.  For two years, she has been performing research on closed ecological systems for space habitation.  Morgan founded the company, Deep Space Ecology LLC, to solve the problems surrounding sustainable human settlement in space by creating marketable solutions for sustainable living on Earth.  She serves as the Chief Science Officer, with her main projects currently centered on the pre-treatments required to grow plants and allow organisms to live in regolith conditions.

 

 

Andrew Rader, PhD, Aerospace Engineer Space X

andrew-raderAndrew Rader is an Aerospace Engineer with a PhD in human spaceflight from MIT (2009). He’s also a Game Designer, Author, Youtuber, and winner of Discovery Channel’s #1 series Canada’s Greatest Know-it-All. Andrew is an avid trivia player and public speaker, occasionally giving talks at schools, convention panels, museums, and other venues. His Youtube series ‘Cooking on Mars’ describes the strangest kids of foods we might eat on Mars. His latest venture is Mars Rover Rescue, a children’s book about a team of space explorers who head to the red planet to search for a missing rover (out xmas 2016, available on Kickstarter now at www.rover-rescue.com).

Potatoes and Space Camp: Why We Need You

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The power of The Mars Generation Space Camp Scholarship program is best seen through the effects on the scholarship recipients. The program helps students with limited financial resources who have talent in STEM a once in a lifetime opportunity to attend Space Camp. The scholarships not only cover the tuition of the camp which is approximately $1,000, it also covers transportation and flight suits and spending money too! We are dedicated to bringing this experience to as many students as possible with a hopes to inspire students to reach for the stars.

Please consider joining us for our annual Give To Mars Day Potato Challenge November 17, 2016 and help us raise funds for these scholarships.

We are now accepting applications for the 2017 Space Camp Scholarships. Applications are due January 15, 2017.

Space Camp Scholarship TestimonyHere is what Tiffany, a 2016 scholarship recipient had to say about the program and it’s effects on her life:
“The TMG scholarship to Space Camp was a huge benefit to my life in a way that leaves me speechless, not only was Space Camp amazing but the people that were able to give me this opportunity (TMG) are as amazing.
For my stem interest it brought me back to my life-long love for astronomy and recent interest in aerospace. I always knew my career path was going to be in STEM but now I am sure that I want to be in aerospace. I also now consider going out of state to study not only for a chance to go to a more aerospace focused school but a chance to explore different places and I hope to study abroad as well.
It is wonderful to think that I would be able to help send humans to Mars but to have the opportunity to go out to space and explore Mars, would feeling that cannot be described by words. If I get to do either of these things it will make me feel complete but I envision my self on earth helping to build and design spacecraft or telescopes to see deeper into our universe and our past. The James Webb telescope is a good example of some kind of project i would want to work on in the future. I would want to design to construct and to see the craft in action. These are some of the many things I would like to accomplish in my future career as an aerospace engineer. “

It’s Back: Announcing the #PotatoChallenge 2016

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potatochallenge-forfbtimeline
It’s that time again. We will be hosting our 2nd annual #PotatoChallenge on November 17.

For those of you who did not participate or hear about our super exciting and fun online event we held for the first time last year – no worries you can click here to see the highlights and also read more below.

The TMG Potato Challenge is a fun collective activity that is designed to see if you have the right stuff to be a Martian for 24 hours! If you take the challenge you will be “stranded” on Mars for 24 hours just like fictional astronaut Mark Watney from The Martian movie. The good news is that being stranded does not take you out of your day-to-day life; it just means you have to live on potatoes and water (and maybe a few extra “earned” perks) for 24 hours.

The basic gist of it its hat you commit to surviving on 10 medium sized potatoes and 16 ounces of water for 24 hours. You can earn additional condiments for your potatoes and other perks by completing special challenges throughout the day and night. As a group we collectively earn things like showers, coffee and eventually coming home from Mars by helping to raise funds for The Mars Generation. Don’t worry we bring in the entire TMG community to contribute to help get us home and some coffee and a shower too!

Why do this?

Besides being a bit crazy and off beat and something fun to do and who doesn’t need a bit of fun to break up the day. Some other reasons to participate include:

  • Helps get people talking about human space exploration and with that conversation grows awareness
  • Helps get people talking about Mars exploration and well if you are part of our community you get why we like that!
  • It builds community. Not only with your friends whom we encourage you to challenge and go for it against them and with them – but it is a worldwide event. People share photos and stories and participate in all the aspects of the challenge mainly on Twitter but also Facebook, Instagram and Google+ too. The idea is to get to  know others, talk and have fun. Build community and grow our message of exciting and education people about the importance of STEM education and humans space exploration.
  • It’s for a good cause. The challenge not only raises awareness, but last year we also raised $7,000 To support our programs (see below for more information). Our goal this year is to raise $10,000 to continue to grow The Mars Generation and support our work.
  • Prizes – yes we will have prizes again this year.
  • If that is not enough – then how about because you have now been challenged and who doesn’t like a challenge!

How to Participate in the #PotatoChallenge

  1. To participate, it is pretty simple. All you need is some potatoes and water! Read the Guidelines here.
  2. Sign up here for updates and to be on the official participants list. It is ok. If you don’t participate that is fine but signing up keeps you in the loop and if you do participate it qualifies you for prizes. Be sure to add groundsupport@TheMarsGeneration.org to your email address book to ensure you get our emails (we will only send emails pertaining to Give to Mars Day).
  3. Post on your page that you have taken the #PotatoChallenge and now will be challenge others to join you! Here is a great sample post:

    I’m going to prove I have the right stuff like Mark Watney from #TheMartian movie by taking the #PotatoChallenge! Join me: themarsgeneration.org/potato-challenge #GTMD16

  4. If you want to earn additional cool stuff you can setup a personal fundraiser page. You will be helping support sending kids to Space Camp and also have a chance for some cool space swag including TMG logo t-shirts, sweatshirts and more fun stuff! You can ask family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, friends online to help you reach your goal. They support #STEM and space education and also your commitment to participate in the #PotatoChallenge. Their donations also go to help our team earn additional resources for the day like salt, butter, coffee and even a shower.  Details to setup a fundraising page are here. and for tips on how to run a personal fundraiser to support a nonprofit click here.  Rewards for raising funds are as follows and can also be seen here:
    • Raise $50 to receive a special art print titled “Love to Mars”
    • Raise $150 receive a TMG logo t-shirt
    • Raise $250 receive a TMG logo sweatshirt
    • Raise $500 receive a special TMG swag package including all lower level rewards and also a TMG patch, Soyuz Adventure patch, TMG stickers and TMG magnet
    • Raise $1000 and receive all lower level prizes plus a black mid-weight TMG patch jacket (this jacket sits at your waist)
  5. Challenge others. It’s more fun when you challenge others to join you!To challenge others post on their FB wall, or tag them on Twitter or email them or whatever you want to do with a message such as:I challenge you @PotatoSarah to support #STEMed & take the #PotatoChallenge with me.  You can join me for 24 hours of potato fun or donate to my fundraising page here:Keep challenging others, follow our channels and share share share to get others involved.

How To Win

To “win”, we all need to be “rescued” from Mars and returned to earth. How does this happen? When The Mars Generation reaches its online fundraising goal the rescue team will arrive and take us “home” to earth. And as a prize we all get to have a great big earth prepared meal, without potatoes!

To win for yourself, will require will power and for you to see if you have “the right stuff”. But don’t worry – if you need to break the rules no one will be watching you and this is for fun and charity!

We have lots of prizes to give away through random drawings throughout the day.

You may earn up to 8 entries per hour.

To enter you must be on Twitter and use the #PotatoChallenge hashtag. You will get one entry for every tweet that shows a photo of you participating in the Potato Challenge or has you participating (example: we ask you to share the music you are listening to, so you share a link to a YouTube video –that counts).

You are also entered in the drawings for every tweet that has a call to action to contribute or check out our Give To Mars Day campaign and also has the link to our campaign page. (limit 4 tweets per hour).

Examples include:

I am participating in the #GTMD16 #PotatoChallenge – Donate now and support @TheMarsGen #JourneyToMars https://givemn.org/organization/themarsgeneration

Help me get salt for my potatoes and save me from #Mars! #PotatoChallenge #TheMartian #GTMD16 https://givemn.org/organization/themarsgeneration

It’s for the kids #GTMD16. Support #STEM #PotatoChallenge #JourneyToMars https://givemn.org/organization/themarsgeneration

What will the money be used for?

This funding will go to support TMG’s 3 programs. We have over 600 Student Space Ambassadors signed up, our Future of Space group is 2500+ strong and we are on second year of sending students with financial need to Space Camp USA. You are helping to grow this organization and empower young people and adults to change the world.

To learn the rules of the challenge click here. To sign up click here. We look forward to you joining us! Thank you!

Astronaut Abby is Kicking off the Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) Alumni Webinar Series

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Screen-Shot-2016-09-21-at-8.54.54-PMScreen-Shot-2016-09-21-at-8.56.54-PMWe are excited to announce that our founder, Astronaut Abby, will be kicking off an Alumni Webinar Series for AEOP, Army Educational Outreach Program. This Alumni Webinar Series will give alumni all over the country the opportunity connect with one another to continue their learning and journey in STEM. The series will launch in October and will allow alumni to hear from success stories from those in the STEM field first hand.

This webinar series is such a great opportunity for people of all ages to hear and learn more about STEM. We are so honored to have Abby be a guest on the first two webinars on October 8 and October 10, 2016. Abby will have the opportunity to share her involvement in STEM and our worldwide outreach initiative to engage students in all things STEM, space and also talk about the importance of students pursuing their dreams.

The AEOP, Army Educational Outreach Program is dedicated to providing both students and teachers a synergetic portfolio of Army-sponsored STEM classes that attract and inspire the next generation of talent. AEOP provides courses for K through College level in order to establish a diverse and highly competent workforce for the Army, Department of Defense and the nation.

The AEOP’s priorities and core objectives are to broaden and diversify the STEM talent pool,to support and empower teachers with unique Army resources, and to develop a sustainable STEM education outreach infrastructure.

Get Moving And Challenge Your Friends To #TrainLikeAMartian

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Train Like A Martian AstronautSo you have decided to join us for the Train Like A Martian challenge April 18-24 and now what?

Turn it into a party! Invite your friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances, favorite movie stars, politician and even your favorite dentist to join in the fun! This is going to be a fun way to get social with people and be a bit silly while also raising awareness about the importance of STEM education, space and fitness and also support the work of The Mars Generation.

It’s a win-win! And why keep the good feelings to yourself? The more people to join in the more fun we will have!

Here are some pre-written messages for you to use for challenging others – don’t be shy…Astronaut Abby has challenged the President of the United States to join in! It doesn’t hurt to dream big!

Tips for messages:

  • Make sure to use the #TrainLikeAMartian hashtag
  • Include the dates April 18-24
  • Include the link for the event information
  • Use Photos – You are free to use photos from any TMG channels or grab some from our event dropbox here.

Twitter Messages:

Twitter tip: Don’t start your tweet with the @ symbol because that limits who can see the tweet to only people who follow both you and the person you are tweeting to. For challenging people we want everyone who follows you to see your tweet so they can learn about the event too!

 

Facebook / LinkedIn / Google+ / Email

I challenge (Tag your friends here) to join me to #TrainLikeAMartian April 18-24! It’s easy just click the link below to sign up and follow @TheMarsGen on Twitter or Facebook for the daily fitness challenges. Share photos of yourself completing the challenge or any physical activity each day for chances to win cool space prizes!

By participating you are helping to raise awareness about the importance of STEM education, space and fitness! You are also helping to advance the mission of The Mars Generation and inspire students around the world to dream big!

Together we can change the world! Join me next week and let’s do this! 

Place Event Link Here

 

Train Like A Martian And Get Rewards Too!

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Train like a martian astronautOur first annual signature event, Train Like A Martian, is sure to be a great success and while we have opportunities for everyone to win prizes without any donations or fundraising, we also have special rewards for donors and fundraisers, too!

It’s easy to earn rewards; either make a donation or setup a fundraising page and raise funds to reach your goal! We also have several special rewards for schools and teams – scroll down for more information on rewards! To setup a team page you can go here (make sure you share the team page link once created with team members so they can join in and setup their pages to link with your pages so all donations are recorded for team).

The Train Like A Martian Donation/Fundraising Individual Rewards Include:

  • Ground Control: Raise or donate $25 or more to receive Love to Mars art print.
  • Launch Pad: Raise or donate $50 or more to receive the newly released Astronaut Abby patch and be entered in the donor prize drawing for a TMG patch jacket. You will also receive all lower rewards.
  • Rocket Fuel: Raise or donate $75 or more to receive a newly released TMG logo pin. You will also receive all lower rewards.
  • Blast OFF: Raise or donate $100 or more to receive the newly released TMG logo keychain and receive all lower rewards.
  • Lower Orbit: Raise or donate $150 or more to receive a TMG logo t-shirt and all lower rewards.
  • Deep Space: Raise or donate $250 or more to receive a TMG logo sweatshirt and all lower rewards.
  • Asteroid Visit: Raise or donate $500 or more to receive a TMG logo coffee mug and two pounds TMG Get Your Roast To Mars Coffee and receive all lower rewards.
  • Moon Travel: Raise or donate $1000 or more to receive a private Google+ Hangout Session with Astronaut Abby! Also receive all lower rewards.
  • Mars Or Bust: Raise or donate $5000 or more to have Astronaut Abby speak at your corporate, school or community event. This is subject to availability and event must be in the continental U.S.

Team Fundraising Prizes and Rewards

  • Top fundraising team – 5 TMG t-shirts and autographed Astronaut Abby photo for all team members registered.
  • 2nd place fundraising team – 5 TMG patches and autographed Astronaut Abby photo for all team members registered.
  • Raise $1000 or more as a school team to schedule a private Google+ Hangout Session with your team and Astronaut Abby and perhaps a few more surprise guests!
  • Raise $5000 or more as a team and schedule Astronaut Abby to visit and speak at your corporate, school or community event. This is subject to availability and event must be in the continental U.S.    **Any speaking requests outside continental U.S. will be subject to transportation and room and board fees for Abby and one guest and is subject to availability. Please contact groundsupport@TheMarsGeneration.org to discuss details. 

School Team Fundraising Rewards and Prizes

  • Top fundraising team – 5 TMG t-shirts and autographed Astronaut Abby photo for all students registered in the school.
  • 2nd place fundraising team – 5 TMG patches and autographed Astronaut Abby photo for all students registered in the school.
  • Raise $1000 or more as a school team to schedule a private Google+ Hangout Session with your school and Astronaut Abby and perhaps a few more surprise guests!
  • Raise $5000 or more as a team and schedule Astronaut Abby to visit and speak at your school. This is subject to availability and event must be in the continental U.S.    **Any speaking requests outside continental U.S. will be subject to transportation and room and board fees for Abby and one guest and is subject to availability. Please contact groundsupport@TheMarsGeneration.org to discuss details.

For more information on rewards and prizes please go to our contest page here.