United Arab Emirates · Est. 2026
NMS AstroNexus
The UAE’s first student-led space event — where the next generation of researchers, builders, and orbital thinkers converge.
3 October 2026 · 8:00 AM – 1:30 PMWhat is AstroNexus
Four challenges, one afternoon, and a school field turned into mission control.
AstroNexus is the first student-led space event of its kind in the UAE. Hosted by the Al Amal Space Club and the Physics Department at GEMS New Millennium School, it brings students from Grade 6 through Grade 12 into four parallel challenges — from decoding satellite telemetry to measuring sunspots against the size of Earth.
Each sub-event is pitched at a different age group and a different discipline: optics, rocketry, orbital mechanics, and solar research. Every one of them ends the same way — a team standing in front of judges, explaining what they built and why it works.
The Challenges
Ordered by year group. Each challenge runs in parallel on the day.
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01 Grade 6
LostInOrbit →
Orbital crisis & satellite rescue. Decode telemetry, build debris shielding, and re-route severed power grids from mission control.
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02 Grade 7–8
TerraFab →
Light-routing optics & interference. Steer laser beams around obstacles with front-surface mirrors and hit the target sensors clean.
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03 Grade 9–10
LaunchX →
Rocketry design challenge. Design and build a model rocket with a randomly assigned partner, then fly it from the school field.
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04 Grade 11–12
HelioScale →
Solar data analysis. Measure real sunspots in AstroImageJ, trace CME source regions, and scale them against the size of Earth.