The ISS Crew Fund in cooperation with the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) introduces the ISS Crew Fund Scholarship. This scholarship is an opportunity for students and young professionals to share their views and analysis on the future of human spaceflight and exploration by submitting a one page essay. The winners will attend the Space Generation Forum 2.0  (SGF2.0) to be held 16-17 June 2018 in Vienna, Austria.

Applicants are asked to submit a one page essay on the following topic:

How do you see human spaceflight in the next 50 years as we are working more internationally and with the private sector? With human spaceflight being expensive do you think landing on the Moon or Mars will be an international endeavor, privatized, or both and why?

Deadline for applications: 27 April 2018, 23:59 GMT

In 2014 the Westphalian Peace Prize had been awarded to the crews of the International Space Station (ISS) to honour their international cooperation for the peaceful exploration of Space. In awarding the prize, special notion had been given to the fact that formerly competing nations have found a way to join their forces and build and operate the largest technical project in Space – the ISS. The prize ceremony took place in the German town of Muenster, North-Rhine Westpahalia, where in the presence of Federal Secretary of State, Mr. Steinmeier, and other local, state, and federal politicians the former ISS crew members Thomas Reiter, ESA/Europe, Michael Lopez-Allegria, NASA/USA, and Pawel Vinogradov, RoscosmosEnergia/Russia were presented with the symbol of the prize, a sculpture representing the heraldic horse of Westphalia.

The associated prize money and other such ISS prizes now form the ISS Crew Fund and are kept in an escrow account under the custody of the Association of Space Explorers – Europe. The money is intended to be used to provide opportunities of international cooperation also for the next generations of young space professionals and foster international cooperation for peaceful research and exploration of Space. Decisions are taken by a board composed of astronauts.

Space Generation Forum 2.0

In 1999, at UNISPACE III, the Space Generation Advisory Council was created. At this time the Space Generation Forum was held, and it was recommended “to create, within the framework of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, a consultative mechanism to facilitate the continued participation of young people from all over the world, especially young people from developing countries and young women, in cooperative space-related activities”. SGAC would like to celebrate this historic event by hosting the second Space Generation Forum, now known as Space Generation Forum 2.0 (SGF2.0).

As 2018 celebrates UNISPACE+50 at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), SGAC will organise activities in connection to this important moment for the international space community as they convene in Vienna for the High-Level Forum, UNISPACE+50 and the sixty-first session of COPUOS.

SGF 2.0 will be held on 16-17 June 2018 in Vienna, Austria before UNISPACE+50.

Award

Up to four winners will receive an award to attend SGF2.0 held in Vienna, Austria. The award will partly cover the expenses for the travel, accommodation and registration fees up to 625 EUR. The winners have to take the responsibility for additional expenses. The scholarship is provided to the winners after the event, and after all activities and responsibilities are satisfied.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit your complete application using the Scholarships Submission Form. Please also upload your essay in the Scholarship Submission Form under “Link to the Relevant Documents” section.

Your submission should follow the guidelines below.

Guidelines

Eligibility

1. The scholarship is open to students and Young Professionals from any country.
2. Participants must be SGAC members (registered on the SGAC website) between the age of 18 and 35 years as of 16th June 2018.
3. Scholarship organisers and judges are not eligible for this award.

Submission

1. All submissions shall be made by 27 April 2018, 23:59 GMT. Any submissions after the deadlines will not be considered.
2. The language of all submissions must be in English.
3. All submissions shall be merged into one single document (unlocked PDF under 5 MB) and submitted via the Scholarships Submission Form. Please also upload your essay in the Scholarship Submission Form under “Link to the Relevant Documents” section. You will need to be logged in (https://spacegeneration.org/login) as an SGAC member to access the submission page.

Responsibility of Winners

1. The winner shall:
   • Attend  Space Generation Forum 2.0  in its entirety
   • Support the running of Space Generation Forum 2.0
   • Contribute to finalizing the Space Generation Forum 2.0 report
   • Submit a short report (1 page excluding pictures) and a short video (1 minute) describing his or her experience at SGF2.0 for inclusion on the SGAC website, newsletter or social media and that of our partners

Reimbursement

1. The award will be paid out after the event, and upon fulfillment of all requirements in a suitable manner as determined by the scholarship coordinators, including any report submissions and submissions of expense claims. It will be paid out no later than 30 days after fulfillment of all responsibilities.
2. Applicants are advised to not engage in any expenses until they have formal confirmation that the scholarship 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.

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 scholarship.
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 documents. SGAC and all affiliated organisers may also present ideas and findings generated by this scholarship at relevant conferences.

Liability

1. Organisers shall not be responsible in the event that SGF2.0 2018 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 SGF2.0 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.
4. The award is not transferable to another event or individual.

Evaluation

The assessment of applications for the ISS Crew Fund Scholarship will be evaluated together by SGAC and ISS Crew Fund.

Schedule

Contact

For any questions, please refer to SGAC Scholarships Team ([email protected]).

Previous winners

2017: Marc Rovira (Spain), Daria Stepanova (Russia), Ian Benecken (Germany), Yuri Shimane (Japan), Zoe Townsend (United Kingdom)