Are you serious about space travel? Or perhaps you're a fanatic for flight? Maybe you're passionate about the planets? Are you eager for exploration?

NASA NASA and WIRED Magazine are teaming up to find -- and reward -- "NASA's Greatest Fan." The agency is holding a video contest, and one deserving winner and guest will receive a free trip to Kennedy Space Center. There, they will be treated as VIPs at an upcoming space shuttle launch.

Video entries should show why their creators deserve the title of "NASA's Greatest Fan." The videos should demonstrate a passion for NASA and its programs, such as human spaceflight, space exploration, aeronautics, and space and Earth science. The videos cannot be longer than 30 seconds, or larger than two megabytes. They must also be appropriate for all audiences. The contest is open to U.S. residents only. Videos that do not meet those requirements will be disqualified. Entrants must be between the ages of 13 and 24.

It's not enough for the videos to be good; they also have to be submitted quickly. The contest opens at 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 18, 2006, and closes at midnight on Friday, Sept. 22, 2006. Only the first 1500 entries will be accepted.

Related Resources

• NASA's Greatest Fan Contest Web site
• NASA's Greatest Fan Contest Rules and Regulations

Nine finalists will be selected by a team of NASA judges, and posted on the NASA Web site for online voting from Sept. 27-30. The video entries of the nine finalists will be featured at WIRED Magazine's NextFest technology showcase at the Javitz Convention Center in New York City from Thursday, Sept. 28-30. Visitors to NextFest will be given the opportunity to vote on-site from the Exploration Pavilion.

Through the partnership with WIRED, the winner and a guest will receive free travel and hotel accommodations for the trip to Florida. They will attend launch briefings and special tours with other VIP guests. The winner and guest will also be able to watch the shuttle launch from an upclose viewing area.

This contest is designed to promote awareness and understanding of NASA's activities, and encourage new generations of youth to explore the impact of space, science and technology on our world.

NASA has an ongoing tradition of investing in the nation's education programs, with a major education goal of attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. To compete effectively for the minds, imaginations and career ambitions of America's young people, NASA is focused on engaging and retaining students in education programs to encourage their pursuit of educational disciplines critical to NASA's future engineering, scientific and technical missions.