How high schoolers and elementary students are actually programming robots in orbit

Space · Published 11 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Space exploration is no longer reserved for professional astronauts. From elementary students asking questions via live broadcasts to high schoolers designing hardware, students globally use the International Space Station as a laboratory. They are currently coding free-flying robots, conducting DNA experiments, and even sending manufactured products into orbit.

The International Space Station serves as a massive, orbital classroom through programs like NASA's Digital Learning Network (DLN). In a recent interactive broadcast, Megan Levins, a Senior Robotics Instructor for the ISS, connected with 4th and 5th grade students from Corpus Christi Catholic School in Pennsylvania. These live sessions allow students to engage directly with the ISS Flight Control Team, astronauts, and scientists to discuss mission operations and the realities of life in microgravity.

Beyond simple Q&A, students are actively contributing to space science through complex coding challenges. Participants in Robo-Pro Challenge 5, a collaborative NASA and JAXA project, develop code for navigating JAXA’s Internal Ball Camera and NASA’s Astrobee via image processing. Similarly, the Zero Robotics competition, co-led by MIT, allows high schoolers to upload code to the Astrobee platform to observe real-world performance in space. The European Space Agency’s AstroPi program also tasks students with writing programs for specialized computers, including one project that successfully measured atmospheric gravity waves in clouds.

The impact of student participation extends to biological research and hardware manufacturing. Students have crafted DNA-based experiments through the Genes in Space competition, which New England Biolabs and the ISS National Lab fund. Notable milestones include Genes in Space-5, which demonstrated simultaneous DNA sequence amplification, and Genes in Space-6, which utilized CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing on yeast in orbit. Meanwhile, the HUNCH program empowers high schoolers to fabricate real-world products. To date, over 2,500 students have participated in these types of initiatives, contributing roughly 3,000 products to space, ranging from one-handed tape dispensers to specialized sleeping pad liners.

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