10 years of New Zealand’s Space Agency
April 2026 marks the 10‑year anniversary of the New Zealand Space Agency. This milestone is an opportunity to celebrate the growth of New Zealand’s space sector, the development of home-grown space capabilities, and the importance of strong, enduring international partnerships.
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It’s also a chance to inspire the next generation to see themselves as part of New Zealand’s space future. To mark the occasion, we are launching a national design competition for students: Patch to the Future.
Patch to the future: Kids patch design competition
The competition is now closed.
Thank you for all the wonderful entries - we have received 2059 patches from all over New Zealand.
Patch to the Future was launched as part of the New Zealand Space Agency's 10th anniversary celebrations. Open to students in Years 1–8, the competition invited young New Zealanders to design a bold, space-themed mission patch that reflected their ideas about space, science, and New Zealand's place in the future.
The overall winner was Siobhan, a Year 3 student from St Margaret's College in Christchurch, whose design stood out for its originality, strong composition, and impressive attention to detail. Her design will now be produced as an official New Zealand Space Agency mission patch.
Winners were also selected in each of the competition's 3 year-group categories:
Years 1–3:
Siobhan, St Margaret's College, Christchurch
(Overall Winner, pictured above)
Years 4–6:
Isabel, Stella Maris Catholic Primary School, Auckland
Years 7–8:
Amelia, Seatoun School, Wellington
The competition received an enthusiastic response from across New Zealand, with entries submitted by students from Mangōnui School in the Far North to Winton School in Southland, as well as from homeschools and community groups such as the Mosgiel Girl Guides. In total, 2,059 entries were received from 251 schools and 14 homeschools nationwide.
Developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Patch to the Future builds on the way New Zealand schools already use space-related contexts to explore topics such as the night sky, satellites, Earth systems, and navigation. As well as celebrating creativity, the competition aimed to spark children's interest in space, science, and technology, while helping them imagine what New Zealand's future in space could look like.
As New Zealand's space sector continues to grow, initiatives like Patch to the Future help young people see that space is something New Zealand is actively involved in and that exciting opportunities exist here at home.
Patch to the Future at a glance
- Ran from 30 April to 5 June 2026
- Launched as part of the New Zealand Space Agency's 10th anniversary
- Open to students in Years 1–8
- Winners selected across 3 year-group categories, with one overall winner
- Overall prize included the winning design being produced as an official New Zealand Space Agency patch, a New Zealand Space Agency jacket, a certificate, and a school visit from a New Zealand Space Agency representative
- Received 2,059 entries
- Entries came from 251 schools and 14 homeschools
- Participants represented major cities, regional centres, rural and remote communities, and homeschool learners from across New Zealand
If you have any questions about the competition email us at New Zealand Space Agency.
10-year anniversary video
We are proud of what New Zealand’s space sector has achieved, and grateful for the support of our international partners as we look to what’s next together.
Watch a video with messages from some of our partners:
10 Years of the New Zealand Space Agency
Video transcript