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THE CURIOSITY CONTEST 2026
THE CURIOSITY CONTEST 2026: REUSE & ISRU
December 28th, 2025 - October 2026
HEY SPACE ENTHUSIASTS
The theme of this year's contest is REUSE & ISRU (In situ resource utilisation), in which the 22 participants divided over five teams are challenged to come up with solutions in the area of sustainability and material efficiency.
Having started in February, they will have until July 12th to develop their projects from project proposal to designs and prototypes that are ready to be pitched to the industry. Next to the workshops that we offer, and the help from their space professional mentors, the participants are encouraged to actively get to know the industry and its current developments in possible careers and space innovation.
And the winners? They will be revealed at the final event in October 2026 during the NL Space Week.
CONTEST CRITERIA
The Criteria on which the teams will be judged are as followed:
1. Relevance to the theme of REUSE & ISRU and their chosen category
2. Feasibility: to what extent is the final design developed to its maximum potential?
3. Originality: how does the project distinguish itself from current developments?
4. Positive impact: to what extent does the project bring positive value to society and the Dutch space industry?
TIMELINE
May 2, 2026 - PLNT
From plan to implementation
For the second workshop, we want to see how the projects are coming along! Each team will do a mid-way presentation and receive feedback from professionals on their development.
More details are still a surprise for now, but bring your laptop, pens and paper! 🫣✨
May 2nd, 2026
12:00 - 17:00 (Walk-in 11:30-12:00)
PLNT, Leiden
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--- PAST EVENTS ---
Feb 14, 2026 - CometLab
Introday
For the introduction day of The Curiosity Contest 2026, we met at Cometlab! There were lectures to explain more about REUSE & ISRU in space from different parts of the industry and the teams met their mentors for their project (in addition to some other cool experts)!
The day ended with some drinks and pizza to chat and get to know each other 🥂
February 14, 2026
14:00 - 17:30 (Walk-in 13:30-14:00)
CometLab, Noordwijk
OCT 9, 2025 - Space Expo
THE CURIOSITY MINI-CONTEST
During the NL Space Week, we had their kick-off event: a mini-contest for space-enthusiastic students. In groups of 4, teams had an hour to come up with a design for an important and current topic: space debris. After, each team pitched their design before a jury of space professionals, who selected the winning team of the day. The winners walked away with special tickets to the Golden Reel Challenge in Bremen on Nov. 19 2025!
As an extra surprise, all teams received free access to the NL Space Campus Network and Drinks XL. 🥳
In short, an afternoon full of creativity, competition and most of all: space!
October 9, 2025
14:00 - 17:00 (Walk-in 13:30-14:00)
Space Expo, Noordwijk
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