A Washington state high school student with a passion for art, space exploration, and a curiosity about the possibility of life on other planets earned the grand prize for the 2025 NASA Student Art Contest.

Dahyun Jung’s winning piece, titled “My Wonders with You,” shows a child seated on the roof of a barn, their arm draped around a dog, watching a space shuttle blast off in the distance. The two are joined by three extraterrestrial beings that also watch in awe. Jung was a high school senior during the submission period for the 2025 competition, which was December 1 through December 31, 2024. The theme for the 2025 art contest was “Our Wonder Changes the World.”

“The theme immediately sparked memories of the moment I first saw a NASA spacecraft launch into space,” Jung said. “That experience filled me with awe and endless questions—especially about how aliens might view our efforts to explore the cosmos. I began imagining what future space missions might look like if we ever made contact with extraterrestrial life. That was the moment everything clicked—the exact moment when imaginations started to fill up the tiny world in my head. I knew exactly what I wanted to draw!”

Jung said art and crafting have been a special part of her life since childhood. She enjoys using a variety of materials to create everything from drawings and paintings to keychains and crochet dolls.

“I’ve always loved drawing, but it was in middle school that I really began to delve into it more deeply,” Jung said. “I see everything that passes through my hands as a form of art.”

Jung was one of more than 2,300 kindergarten through 12^th grade students from across the United States and its territories who participated in the 2025 art contest, a record-breaking number. Kristina Cors, art contest coordinator at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, said, “This contest gives the students a way to connect their passion for art with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and hopefully inspires them to continue exploring those connections throughout their lives.”

Jung is no stranger to the art contest. She said she first participated in 2022.

“Returning to the contest in 2025 felt both nostalgic and thrilling as I came back with improved techniques, more experience, and a fresh new idea that fit this year’s theme,” she said.

Jung used Procreate, a digital illustration and painting app, to create her award-winning work.

“For this piece, I used my customized brush in Procreate,” Jung said. “The biggest merit of using a digital platform for drawing is the variety of textured brushes they offer. They allowed me to vividly illustrate various elements—like the sky, the rocket’s exhaust plume, hair, and roof—each with its own texture and detail.”

Jung’s artwork brought to life her own enthusiasm regarding NASA’s work advancing space exploration, aeronautics, and science.

“I’ve always been fascinated by NASA’s commitment to pushing boundaries—especially in space exploration,” Jung said. “Space feels like an undiscovered world, full of endless possibilities, but only a few have had the chance to access it. In many ways, NASA’s work mirrors how I always push creative boundaries in my own art. I’ve always dreamed of traveling to space, and it’s that sense of wonder that inspired my piece.”

Jung said she hopes her artwork can help to inspire awe and stir imagination in others.

“I want my artwork to be the starting point of all wonders—a spark that takes people back to their childhood, when dreams were bold and limitless,” Jung said. “I hope it rekindles that sense of passion, whatever it may be, and encourages others to dare to dream again.

To view a complete list of winners by grade, please click here.

To view all 2025 art contest entries, please click here.

Brittny McGraw
NASA Langley Research Center