Finalist Teams Announced!

COMPETITION GUIDELINES

NASA and the Texas Space Grant Consortium (TSGC) are pleased to announce the NASA Means Business Student Competition 2002 program (NMB '02).

WE INVITE YOU to compete for a chance to make a real contribution to NASA's Mars Exploration Program by applying your knowledge of the business world in the Space Program.

Here is how it works.

In the Fall 2001 semester, you will assemble a team of student colleagues to prepare and submit a proposal according to guidelines set forth in this web site.

If your proposal is selected from those received, you will then compete against up to five other Finalist Teams to develop a Customer Engagement Program Plan (Program Plan) for NASA's Mars Exploration Program. The main objective of the Program Plan is to effectively articulate to the general public the value and anticipated contributions of the missions NASA plans to launch to Mars during the next 20 years.

Finalists will employ the tools of advertising, marketing, communication, radio-television-film, journalism and other similar professions. Indeed, we urge you to consider forming an interdisciplinary team that includes students in one or more of these specialties, as well as in space sciences and/or aerospace engineering.

Then, in May 2002, representatives of the Finalist Teams will attend the Fourth Annual NASA Customer Engagement Conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. This Conference will be a forum for:

• Presenting the teams' work;
• Interacting with leading NASA, industry and university community "customer engagement" professionals;
• Receiving status reports on the progress of Mars exploration missions and programs; and
• Receiving updates on new systems, technologies and approaches to the exploration of Mars.