Do you love making art and using your imagination? So do we! Every NASA mission starts with a creative idea about how to explore something in a new way.
The art challenge:
In this new activity, we'd like to challenge young explorers to think about and draw a space-related situation each month. And after the month is over, we'll select a few imaginative drawings to be featured on the NASA Space Place website!
So, get ready to exercise that creative brain of yours! Here's what you'll need:
- Paper
- Art supplies (pencils, markers, crayons, paints – whatever you like to use)
- A grownup helper with a camera or scanner and access to email
Note: We cannot accept artwork created with AI technologies.
Space Place Art Challenge prompt:
Did you know NASA recently launched a special new type of space telescope? It is called SPHEREx, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer.
An illustration of SPHEREx observing the sky. It will help scientists learn how the universe began and where the building blocks of life might be. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This telescope will create a first-of-its-kind map of more than 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars in the Milky Way. This map will be useful for astronomers who want to study objects in the sky. It will also help us better understand how the universe has evolved since the big bang.
SPHEREx is special because it will look at the entire sky and take pictures using infrared light. Infrared light shows us colors that are invisible to the human eye. So, with SPHEREx’s maps, scientists will find different cosmic objects than we would normally be able to see.
SPHEREX took its first pictures of space using special light we can't see with our eyes. These colorful images help scientists learn about stars and galaxies. It also helps us learn how the universe has changed over time. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This mission will help us understand how galaxies and the objects within them (like stars and planets) formed billions of years ago! SPHEREx will also search for molecules that support life here on Earth — such as water, carbon dioxide, and methane — in interstellar space.
This month’s prompt: Picture SPHEREx’s giant sky map and create a colorful space map of what you think this mission will find. How were galaxies made and planets formed? Can you picture what galaxies will look like in the future? Do you think that we will find planets like Earth? Be sure to use many colors, as infrared light helps us see many colors in the galaxy!
Remember: This is not a regular map used for directions but a giant map that shows us a colorful picture of the universe.
Get creative and submit your art before June 30, 2025. Selected art submissions will appear on the website in early July!
How to submit your art:
Once you've gotten your ideas on the page, have a grownup take a photo or scan of the drawing and email the following to NASAKidsArt@jpl.nasa.gov:
- Picture of drawing
- First name of artist
- Age of artist
- Completed release form (download here)*
That's it! Have fun creating and we can't wait to see your drawings!
Last Month's Art Challenge Selections
Draw what you’re looking forward to seeing in the night sky this month, or any time in 2025!
A'Rehya, 8
Allisson, 13
Antonella, 9
Elise, 4
Elsie, 10
Esdras, 16
Hayden, 8
Henrik, 8
Huckleberry, 11
Joshua, 12
Maddy, 9
Naisha, 8
Nataliya, 12
Paxton, 9
Ryan, 4
Saanvi, 9
Samuel, 9
Stella, 12
Sumedh, 9
Zahra, 13
* AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE FOR PHOTOS, AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO RECORDINGS OF, AND/OR ARTWORK FROM A MINOR CHILD
I hereby grant to the California Institute of Technology (Institute) and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) the right to make, use, create derivative works and/or display:
- photos, video and/or audio tape recordings of, my Child and/or
- artwork (in any media, including drawings, photos, music and video creations) created by my Child and submitted to JPL and/or
in any manner or form, and for any lawful purpose at any time. I also grant the Institute to use my Child's name associated with such photos, recordings of my Child or with his/her artwork. I understand that my Child may be photographed and/or video or audio taped verbatim and that the Institute may allow persons external to the Institute to view the pictures or recordings in part or in their entirety. I also understand that any artwork submitted by my Child to the Institute for the Project may be edited, reproduced or displayed publicly at the Institute's discretion. I am fully aware and agree that such use of my Child's image or artwork and name may include posting on publicly available internet sites, including JPL sites and other publicly viewable social media sites. I waive any right that I may have to review or approve of any finished products, or the uses to which such products may be applied. I release and discharge the Institute, its employees, sponsors, and subcontractors from any liability to me by virtue of any representation that may occur in the creation, editing or use of said photos and/or video or audio tape recordings or the editing or use of my Child's artwork.
