Stardust 2026
Monday 2 and Friday 6 November 2026
A week of talks, panels, a career fair and poster sessions, the finale of the Stardust Challenge, and the opening of the Stardust Awards. In the room in Seattle, or on the stream from anywhere. Free with a Stardust account, open to anyone, at any age.
Main event sponsor: Club for the Future, Blue Origin's foundation
What happens
Stardust 2026 is our flagship event. Nobody needs a flight or a visa to be part of it: every main-stage session is streamed, and the room in Seattle is for those who can make it.
Talks and panels
People who fly, build and study spaceflight, on the main stage both days.
The Challenge finale
Teams from the Stardust Challenge present their abstracts and posters themselves, and on Thursday 5 November the judges sit down with the winning teams, on the stream, wherever the teams are. Teams present from their own classroom or lab: a slot in their own time zone, a tech check the week before, and one person from Stardust on the line with them.
Career fair
Through the week, in person. Read what each organisation does and what they are hiring for, and send a private message without speaking up in front of anyone.
Poster sessions
Accepted abstracts on the floor as posters, with their authors beside them.
The Stardust Awards
The Stardust Awards open during the week: the community nominates, every member gets a vote, and nominations run to 15 December. The winners are presented at the Stardust Gala in Seattle on 31 December.
The stream
Every main-stage session, live and worldwide, with the chat open. Recordings follow for members.
The agenda
Times are PST (Seattle), with your own time zone beside each one.
Monday 2 November
Tuesday 3 November
Friday 6 November
Seattle. The address is whispered to registered guests first, in October. Full programme.
The speakers
Confirmed. The rest are unveiled one at a time.
Dr. Olav Krigolson
Professor, Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience Laboratory
University of Victoria
Frank White
Author, The Overview Effect
Human Space Program
Taylour Mills
STEAM Advisor and Board of Advisors
SEDS USA
Dr. Danny Jaques
Founder
Danny's Rocket Ranch
Paola Rodríguez
CEO
Neko Aerospace Engineering
David Bavaresco
President and Chief Aerospace Engineer
Neko Aerospace Engineering
Osho Priya
NASA Lucy Mission Ambassador
STEM outreach and ethical AI
Shinul Paul
Chief Operating Officer
Stardust
Zain Tawana
Chief Impact and Partnership Officer
Stardust
Shifa Zahra
Director of Space Biology and Strategic Partnerships
Stardust
Caroline Clark
Analogue Astronaut & Space Psychology Researcher
Expansum
Dr. Gretchen Green
Physician and Blue Origin astronaut, NS-32
Dr. Alexandra (Sandra) Whitmire
Lead Scientist, Human Factors and Behavioral Performance, NASA Human Research Program
Oscar O'Farrill
Psychologist and High-Performance Coach
Astronaut Training Agency for México and Latin América
Dr. Fernando De La Peña Llaca
Founder and CEO, Aexa Aerospace and Aexa Tech
Aexa Aerospace
Ashley Lewelling
Director and producer, World's Biggest Analog film · Coordinator, GOWME
GOWME
Robert Aillon
Founder and CEO
Leviathan Space Industries
Rafael Kargren
Chief Strategy Officer
Stardust
Michael J. Smith
Center Opportunity Manager, Marshall Space Flight Center
NASA
Rocky Singh
Chief Revenue Officer
Stardust
Eddie Gonzales
Stardust Advisory Board
NASA, retired
Robert S. Katz
Founder and CEO, World Innovation Network; NASA Space Apps Local Lead, Cape Canaveral
WIN
Girinath Anandhan
Analog Astronaut and Founder, CosmoBuzz Space
CosmoBuzz Limited
Dorra Saidi
Lead, Quasar Nexus
Université Centrale, Tunisia
Ken Ruffin
Space Communicator; President, NSS of North Texas
National Space Society
Mariam Metawee
Founder, Project Spaceak for Knowledge
Stardust Egypt
Sharon Eggleston
Founder, Space Day Maine
Maine Space Grant Consortium
Arshleen Kaur Sahni
Founder and CEO, Space Architect
Arkasa
Steve Jones
Astronomy and physics teacher, ExoLab 8 and 9 principal investigator
FCS Innovation Academy, Georgia
Dr Joshua Chou
Chief Science Officer
Stardust
Jason Michaud
CEO and Founder
Stardust
Host, Stardust 2026
Unveiling soon
Speaker 32
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Speaker 33
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Speaker 34
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Speaker 35
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Speaker 36
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Speaker 37
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Speaker 38
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Speaker 39
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Speaker 40
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Speaker 41
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Speaker 42
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Speaker 43
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Speaker 44
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Speaker 45
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Speaker 46
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Speaker 47
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Speaker 48
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Speaker 49
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Speaker 50
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Speaker 51
Call for abstracts
The call for abstracts closed on 20 October 2026.
Accepted abstracts
The Challenge finale
Stardust 2026 is where the Stardust Challenge 2026 ends: 83 teams from 35 countries are registered so far, 48 entries are in, and the teams present their own work on the main stage. Registration for teams closes 15 October; entries close 18 October.
Partners and organisations taking part
Main event sponsor: Club for the Future, Blue Origin's foundation. These organisations are part of Stardust 2026, at the career fair and on the programme. Read what each does and what they are hiring for, and message them privately from the programme page.
Sponsor Stardust 2026
Put your name on the next generation. A week in Seattle, a worldwide stream, the Challenge finale and the opening of the Stardust Awards: there is a place for a brand at every level, and every dollar buys places for young people on Odyssey at the same price anybody pays.
Presenting Partner
from $25,000
Your name with Stardust 2026 on every page, the stream, the reception and the awards. A keynote slot, first choice of a Challenge category to name, the first booth at the career fair, and a table at the awards reception. One only.
Stage Partner
from $10,000
A panel of your own on the main stage, in the room and on the stream, a named Challenge category with a brief from your industry, a career-fair booth, and a seat with the judges and the finalists.
Career Fair Partner
from $5,000
A booth on both days, a session or workshop, your logo on the event page and the stream, and a place on the mentoring bench with the finalists, on the stream.
Community Partner
from $2,500
Your logo on the event page, the stream credits and the welcome pack, and scholarship places for young people in your name.
Friend of Stardust 2026
from $1,000
Your name on the event page and in the stream credits, and ten scholarship places for young people.
In-kind Partner
recognised at value
Travel, hotel rooms, AV, print, food and drink, merchandise, media, volunteer time. Credited at the level its value matches.
Sponsor one thing
Sponsor a panel
Your name on one main-stage panel, both in the room and on the stream, with a seat on it if you want one.
The career fair
Presenting sponsor of both career-fair days: the floor, the signage, the first booth.
The awards reception
The evening the Stardust Awards are announced, in your name: the welcome and a word from the stage.
The stream
Your logo on the worldwide stream all week, the pre-roll, and the recordings after.
The swag
The bag every attendee carries home, and what is in it: your item beside ours.
Student travel
Bring a finalist team to Seattle who could not otherwise come. Flights, rooms, a badge with your name on it.
A Stardust Award
One of the eleven awards presented on the night, in your name, handed over by you.
A Challenge category
Name one of the eight categories and set its brief from your industry. Teams worldwide build against it.
Scholarship places
Ten young people
$1,000
10 places at $100 each for a year. A classroom-sized group, a year of Stardust Plus each, and a report you can put in front of your board.
A cohort of fifty
$5,000
50 places at $100 each for a year. Enough to run a country programme, or to name a Stardust Challenge category as its sponsor.
One hundred places
$10,000
100 places at $100 each for a year. What Club for the Future funded. It reached young people on four continents and is still being reported on.
Ten Pathway places
$10,000
10 places at $1,000 each for a year. The mentored tier: for a sponsor who wants depth with a small number of young people rather than reach.
In-kind support is welcome at every level and recognised at its value: travel, hotel rooms, AV, print, food, merchandise, media. Invoiced, never marked up. Multi-year and a named Challenge category are both possible.
Be there
On the stream
Free and worldwide. Sign up with a free Stardust account: that is how you get the stream link, the reminders, and a seat in the chat.
In Seattle
In Seattle every day of the week. The address is whispered to registered guests first. The Challenge winners are revealed on Thursday 5 November.
Help run it
The organising committee, the judges, the mentors and the volunteers on the day. Who they are, and four doors to join them. The committee
Sponsor or exhibit
A booth at the career fair, a panel, the reception, the stream, or the swag. The levels are above, and a booth is one form: ask for a booth.
Coming from abroad? Registered attendees can ask for an invitation letter for a visa: write to shifa.z@stardustinc.ca with your name as it appears in your passport. Every day is photographed, filmed and streamed; being in the room is saying yes to that.
Press and partnerships: Shifa Zahra, Director of Space Biology & Strategic Partnerships, shifa.z@stardustinc.ca.
Questions people ask
Is it free?
Yes. The whole week is free with a Stardust account, in the room or on the stream. The Challenge winners are revealed on Thursday 5 November and everyone at the event is welcome.
Can my class join?
Yes. A teacher takes a join code into a room and the class watches together, or a team enters the Challenge and presents from the classroom.
Can I present?
Send an abstract before 20 October. Accepted talks go on the main stage, accepted posters on the floor. Challenge teams present their own work.
Will there be recordings?
Every main-stage session is recorded. Members get the recordings after the event.
For the press
What you can use, in one place. Contact Shifa Zahra, shifa.z@stardustinc.ca.
