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Earn up to $10,000 by Pitching a Research Proposal to NASA

Earn up to $10,000 by Pitching a Research Proposal to NASA

Pitch your idea to NASA for a chance to receive funding, expert mentorship, and a real suborbital flight test. This is open to students, early-career researchers, and independent innovators.

Joseph Sampson
July 28, 2025 • 8 minutes

What’s Happening Today!

Welcome to a daily drop from That Black Chemist!

NASA is inviting early-career innovators, student teams, and independent researchers to pitch ideas for mini payload experiments to test in suborbital flights. If selected, your proposal could be funded and launched into space! This is a rare shot to contribute to real aerospace research and earn $10,000 for your contribution!

Over in biotech, researchers dive into how salamanders regrow entire limbs—and what that could mean for human healing. By decoding the genes that guide limb regeneration, scientists hope to one day apply similar processes to help humans regrow tissue after injury or surgery.

And if you love memes, stay tuned through the end!

Upcoming Opportunities

🚀 NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience (NPWEE)

Team up with future space innovators in a hands-on proposal academy sponsored by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In this interdisciplinary program, you'll learn how to write real NASA-style proposals, compete for a $10,000 team prize, and gain experience evaluating peer proposals.

Participants also get trained in CAD design using Siemens NX, a key tool used across the aerospace industry, and develop critical skills in communication, teaming, and innovation.

📅 Program Details

Program Dates: Fall 2025 (Live Zoom sessions on Thursdays, 4-6 PM PST)
Application Deadline: August 24, 2025, at 11:59 PM PST
Format: Virtual (includes 6-10 hours/week of project work outside live sessions)
Host: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
Prize: $10,000 team award for top proposal
Apply Online: [Search Here]

✅ Eligibility

U.S. citizen or permanent resident
At least 18 years old
Enrolled in a U.S. college/university as an undergraduate/graduate student OR early career professional (≤5 years into career)
Must reside in the U.S. during the program
Requires webcam, mic, internet, and team commitment

⚠️ Bonus Opportunities You Should Know

🧪 NSF REU Summer Research Programs: List of funded undergrad research programs. (Search here)
🎓 Zintellect: List of scholarships, research fellowships, and internship opportunities funded by the U.S. government or private sector. (Search here)
💰 NASA OSTEM Internships: List of NASA Internships for high school and undergraduate STEM students. (More info)
🪖 Department of Defense (DoD) SMART Scholarship: $30,000-$46,000 scholarship awarded to top STEM students. (Link)

🌍 International Opportunities

🧲 Pathways to Science: List of upcoming internships, scholarships, and research programs hosted by any country [open to international students]. (Search here)
🔬 Amgen Scholars Program: Prestigious summer research program for undergraduate students in the U.S., Europe, or Asia. (More info)
⚛️ European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN): Search for any upcoming internships related to chemistry, physics, engineering, or data science! (Link here)

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Scientist’s Scroll

🧬 Axolotls Reveal Secret to Limb Regeneration: Less is More

In a major breakthrough for regenerative medicine, NSF-supported scientists discovered that axolotls, a type of salamander known for regrowing limbs, use less of a key molecule, not more, to guide proper limb regrowth. The study brings researchers one step closer to enabling tissue repair and limb regeneration in humans.

Led by Dr. James Monaghan at Northeastern University, the team found that retinoic acid, a molecule known to trigger regeneration, decreases in concentration from shoulder to wrist. An enzyme that destroys retinoic acid is abundant at the wrist, helping cells figure out where they are in the limb and what to regrow.

Using CRISPR gene editing, researchers also identified genes critical for shaping specific parts of the limb. One of these genes is Shox which is essential for shoulder region development. When these genes were switched off, limbs regrew—but with incorrect proportions.

🔗 Read the full article here —>

Tip of the Day

🔬 Lying About Data Can End Your Scientific Career Before it Starts

It might seem harmless to tweak a graph, drop an outlier, or fudge a number “just this once” to get your lab report or research paper to look cleaner. But in science, integrity isn’t optional: it’s everything.

Here’s why you should never fake data, even under pressure:

It Hurts More Than It Helps: A polished but false result might win you short-term praise — until someone tries to replicate it. When they can’t, your credibility (and possibly your academic standing) collapses.
Small Lies Snowball: One fudged dataset often leads to more. You’ll have to remember and defend falsehoods, and that stress builds fast. Worse, you’ll never fully trust your own results.
Real Science Is Messy: Professors and PIs know that noise, errors, and unexpected results are part of the process. Honest, imperfect work is better than dishonest perfection.
You Leave a Trail: Lab notebooks, file metadata, and version histories are all digital forensics that can uncover manipulation. If it happens in academia or a company, it can blacklist you from jobs or degrees for good.