NASA'S Gateways to Blue Skies Competition

2025 Competition: AgAir (Aviation Solutions for Agriculture)

Opportunities exist to improve currently deployed systems and/or implement new technologies by modernizing aviation capabilities in agriculture to increase impact, safety, and ease of access to both these enabling systems and the products/services they ensure. The 2025 Blue Skies Competition asks collegiate student teams to conceptualize aviation-related system(s) that can be applied to agriculture by 2035 or sooner with the goal of improving agriculture production, efficiency, environmental impact, and extreme weather/climate resilience.*

*Teams are encouraged to consider high-potential technologies and systems that aren’t currently mainstream or highly regarded as becoming mainstream in the future and imagine beyond applying sensors to aviation systems.

^ Photo by Federico Respini on Unsplash ^

Competition News

Announcing the 2025 Blue Skies Competition!

August 6, 2024 - The 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition: AgAir (Aviation Solutions for Agriculture) is now open! Proposals should focus on ways new or improved aviation solutions could assist the agriculture industry.

2024 Blue Skies Winners Announced!

June 3, 2024 - The California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, team, with their project titled “Aero-Quake Emergency Response Network,” took first place at the third annual Gateways to Blue Skies Competition.

2024 Blue Skies Finalists Announced!

March 26, 2024 - Eight teams have been selected as finalists as part of the 2024 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition. Teams will present their design concepts to a panel of NASA & industry judges at a forum this May at NASA Ames.

GATEWAYS TO BLUE SKIES

Competition Overview

Blue Skies expands engagement between universities and NASA’s University Innovation Project, industry, and government partners by providing an opportunity for multidisciplinary teams of students from all academic levels (i.e., freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate) and majors to tackle significant challenges and opportunities for the aviation industry through a new project theme each year. The competition is guided by a push toward new technologies as well as environmentally and socially conscious aviation.

Initial participation involves a conceptual study, submission of a 5-7 page proposal and creation of a video summarizing the team’s proposal. Finalist teams (up to 8) write a final research paper, create an infographic summarizing concepts, and present in front of NASA and industry experts at a culminating forum held at a NASA Center at the end of May or early June. Internship opportunities with NASA’s ARMD serve as the competition prize for members of the winning team. 

Toggle the menu below for additional competition details. Visit the Competition Details page for more details about this year’s competition.