Description

Now through March 23, 2026, NASA is encouraging applications for its 38th Annual Planetary Science Summer School. Offered by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, PSSS is a 3-month long early career development experience designed to prepare the next generation of planetary science and engineering mission leaders.  Participants learn the process of developing a science hypothesis-driven robotic space mission in a concurrent engineering environment while getting an in-depth, first-hand look at mission design, mission life cycle, costs, schedule and the trade-offs inherent in each.

PSSS is roughly equivalent in workload to a rigorous 3-credit graduate-level course, requiring an average effort of 10-12 hours per week. Participants spend the majority of the first 10 weeks in preparatory webinars acting as a science mission team, prior to spending the final culminating week being mentored by JPL’s Advance Project Design Team, or “Team X” to refine their mission concept design, then present it to a mock review board of NASA Center experts. 

Requirements

Applicants with the following education and career experience are eligible: Science and engineering Doctoral Candidates (advancement to candidacy required), recent Ph.D.’s (up to five years beyond their Ph.D.), Postdocs, Junior Faculty with a Ph.D., and Non-research Engineering Master-level students within six to nine months of graduation will be considered on a space-available basis.

Open to U.S. Citizens and legal permanent residents and a limited number of Foreign Nationals from non-designated countries living with continuous residence in the U.S at the time of application and extending through the full program period.  There is no charge to attend.  We strive to create a welcoming environment where participants’ contributions and unique perspectives are valued.

Each Science Mission Design School begins with 10 weeks of online preparatory sessions (two per week) plus group and individual worktime, with an additional 3-hour architecture study during the final month. The full-time culminating week is typically hosted onsite at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.