SGAC – AAE Conference 2023 – Dream mission call

Do you want to share your space exploration dream with the space community? The Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) and Académie de l’air et de l’espace (AAE) are joining forces to offer young professionals and students the opportunity to present their space exploration dreams at the AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023 in Turin, Italy. The main objective is to bring fresh visions and new inspiring perspectives in the field of space exploration missions (*) as currently envisioned within worldwide Space Agencies.

*Space exploration missions must be understood as crewed and uncrewed missions beyond low Earth orbits, including robotic missions beyond the solar system.

 

The competition/open call will grant up to 6 winners an opportunity to present their dreams during the SGAC dream session at the AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023. During this session, you will have 15 minutes to present your dream mission to a crowd of experts and space enthusiasts.

The deadline for the first round of the application is: October 1 2022, 23:59 UTC October 11 2022, 23:59 UTC. Applications are now closed.

 

Award:

Each main author of the winning submissions (one per winning submission) will be reimbursed for his/her travel expenses, under justification, with a ceiling of €1000 total to attend the AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023. Winners will also be granted a guaranteed slot for a 15 minute presentation in the SGAC dream session, and a 15 minute mentorship session with one of AAE’s experts (TBD). In case the conference is held virtually, the winner will still receive free entry to the conference.

 

How to apply:

Please submit your complete application using the Scholarship Submission Form in the “Apply!” section at the bottom of this page (please ensure you are logged in to see the form).

Please submit your documents as unlocked PDF files written in English. Your name should be included at the top of all pages. Your submission should follow the competition guidelines detailed below. Please follow the word count strictly – excess words will not be judged.

Your application for the first round will need to include:

  • 1000 word abstract about your dream mission
  • 500 word document describing your motivation and expectations for participating in AAE Space Exploration Conference and methods used for working towards an presentation at the conference

 

Guidelines

Eligibility

  1. The competition is open to all students and young professionals from any country.
  2. All individuals or team members shall be SGAC members between the ages of 18 to 35 inclusive (up to the day of their 36th birthday) on April 31, 2023.
  3. The competition is open to individuals or teams. In case of a team submission, a contribution breakdown of the co-authors to the content must be included. One member shall be identified as the main author and main point of contact, and only one member of the team will be eligible to receive the scholarship.
  4. Competition organisers and judges are not eligible for this award.

 

Submission

  1. The abstract/paper is due as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB. It shall be submitted via the Scholarship Submission Form. All selected for the second round will be informed by email to send the full paper.
  2. The language of all submissions shall be English.
  3. The submission shall include original content and research. Work that has already been presented at a past conference or previously submitted to this competition is not eligible. 
  4. The competition is divided into two rounds:

 

First Round – Abstract

For the first round, you will need to submit an abstract conforming to the formatting requirements of this call for ideas (not exceeding 1000 words), and a 500 word document describing your motivation and expectation for the competition. The best submissions will be selected and only those will be eligible for the Second Round.

 

Second Round – Video

For round two, you will ask to send in an 5 minute video presentation that will provide an summary of your presentation and working methods towards the presentation at AAE Space Exploration Conference

 

The best submissions to the First Round will be selected and only those will be eligible for the Second Round.

 

  1. The abstract/paper is due as an unlocked PDF document under 5 MB. All submissions shall be made by October 1 2022, 23:59 UTC October 11, 2022, 23:59 UTC for the First Round, and December 1, 2022 at 23:59 UTC for the Second Round. Any submissions after the deadlines will not be considered
  2. In case of a lack of quality of submissions, SGAC has the right to extend and or cancel the competition.

 

Responsibilities of the Winners

The winning author shall:

  1. Attend the entire AAE Space Exploration Conference.
  2. Submit a short report (2 pages excluding pictures) and a short video (1 minute) describing his or her experience at the AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023 for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners
  3. Present the winning presentation at AAE Space Exploration Conference
  4. Meet with the competition supporters during AAE Space Exploration Conference
  5. All responsibilities shall be fulfilled and reports etc. submitted not later than September 1, 2023. In case the scholarship awardee(s) do(es) not complete the scholarship requirements on time, the scholarship funds will be transferred to SGAC general budget to continue supporting the mission and work of SGAC.

 

Reimbursement

  1. The award will be paid out after the AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023, no later than 30 days after fulfilment of all responsibilities listed above.
  2. The scholarship award reimbursement is conditioned on the awardee fulfilling the scholarship requirements not later than September 1, 2023.
  3. Applicants are advised to not engage any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the competition has been awarded. The SGAC is not liable for any expenses incurred by applicants in any case where a competition is not awarded, or in excess of the value of the awarded grant.
  4. Reimbursements will follow the SGAC Scholarships Travel Policy & Reimbursement Guidelines
  5. Please make sure to consult the Guidelines before incurring expenses.

 

Copyright and Intellectual Property

  1. By submitting an entry, applicants agree to permit SGAC and all affiliated organisers to mention their names, affiliations and headshot picture in connection with the competition.
  2. Copyright of the submitted entry shall remain with the contestants. However, by submitting an entry all contestants agree that SGAC and all affiliated organisers are granted non-exclusive reproduction rights regarding all submitted papers. SGAC and all affiliated organisers may also present ideas and findings generated by this competition at relevant conferences

 

Liability

  1. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023 is cancelled. SGAC will not reimburse the winning author, even if he/she has already incurred expenses.
  2. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner fails to attend AAE Space Exploration Conference 2023 or is unable to under extenuating circumstances; in that case the award offer shall become void.
  3. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that the award winner cannot obtain any necessary travel documents; if they are required but not obtained, the award offer shall become void.

 

Evaluation

Evaluators will include members of the SGAC scholarship team and representatives of the scholarship supporter.

The evaluation will be made based on a point system taking the following criteria and their weights into consideration:

 

  • Novelty and originality of the proposed missions as compared to missions currently discussed within main Space Agencies. Uniqueness of the vision that supports the idea is a bonus. (30%)
  • Description of Attractiveness of your mission concept either for technologists, or for scientists or even for media/ public and all space exploration supporters. (30%)
  • Credibility of associated technological and scientific backgrounds, even if the missions are only envisioned in the long term, should be assessed but without requiring the level of the best experts. (20%)
  • Motivation of the authors to participate in the conference. (20%)

 

Timeline

 

Entries accepted:  September, 1, 2022

 

First Round Submission Deadline: October 1 2022, 23:59 UTC October 11 2022, 23:59 UTC. Applications are now closed.

 

First Round Winners Announced: October 21, 2022

 

Second Round Submission Deadline: December 1, 2022, 23:59 UTC

 

Second Round Winner announced: Dec 20, 2022 Jan 2nd, 2023

 

Space Exploration Conference: May 2023

 

Contacts

 

For questions, please contact [email protected] or SGAC scholarship team [email protected] 

 

Apply