Category Archives: Space participation

Asteroids & Comets, Space participation, Space Systems

NASA reaches out to Makers for help with Asteroid Grand Challenge

NASA;s Chief Technologist Mason Peck to attend Maker Faire to ask help of Makers “for ideas on how to find, track and deflect asteroids” as part of the agency’s Asteroid Initiative and Grand Challenge:

NASA Highlights Asteroid Grand Challenge at World Maker Faire

NASA is reaching out to a new community for ideas on how to find and track potentially hazardous asteroids, and protect the planet from their impacts. The World Maker Faire is being held Sept. 21-22 at the New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th St., in New York.

The World Maker Faire is a festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness – the exact qualities NASA is looking for to help in solving the global challenge asteroid threats present.

NASA Chief Technologist Mason Peck will be on hand to talk about how Makers can help shape space exploration and be a critical player in NASA’s asteroid initiative.

“Unlike traditional NASA missions of exploration and science, this grand challenge is driven by the idea that protecting our planet is an issue bigger than any one program, mission or country,” Peck said. “For the first time, NASA has reached out to industry, academia, stakeholder organizations and private citizens for ideas on how to find, track and deflect asteroids. These partnerships represent a new way of doing business for NASA and a call to action for Makers: join us to become a critical part of the future of space exploration.”

NASA will offer Makers a chance to program science hardware and learn how small, do-it-yourself projects might be used to help track and understand asteroids, using their own personal computers. NASA also will showcase the Centennial Challenges Program, with winning teams and technology from the Astronaut Glove and Sample Robot Return challenges.

Media interested in attending Maker Faire should register online at: http://makerfaire.com

Media interested in speaking to Peck should contact Sarah Ramsey at sarah.ramsey@nasa.gov.

NASA’s asteroid initiative has two parts: the mission by astronauts to explore an asteroid and a grand challenge to protect the planet. It is included in President Obama’s fiscal year 2014 budget request for NASA, and leverages the agency’s progress on asteroid discovery and study, the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft and cutting-edge technology development.

For more information about NASA’s asteroid initiative, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/asteroidinitiative

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Here is a video of the Asteroid Grand Challenge announcement back in June:

Space Arts, Space participation

The Dream Rocket Project – Wrapping a Saturn V with artwork

This article gives an update on the The Dream Rocket Project and their plan to wrap the Saturn V rocket at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama with artwork panels created by people (mostly children) from around the world for an exhibition in 2015: Washburn professor dreams big with hopes to wrap a rocket in artwork – CJOnline.com.

They are raising money for the project in a Kickstarter campaign. Currently they have $3,829 pledged towards a $12,100 goal with 17 days left.

Activism, DIY space, Space participation

Copenhagen Suborbitals: Article in Guardian + space suit test video

Copenhagen Suborbitals is profiled in this Guardian article: The DIY Danes planning to launch a man into space: Shoestring project puts faith in homemade spacesuits and cork-tile heat shields – The Guardian.

Unfortunately, the article does not credit Cameron Smith and John Haslett for the development of the spacesuits.

Here’s a recent CS video:

Activism, Events, Space participation

Four SpaceUp events this fall

Check for a SpaceUp Unconference near you this year:

 

Simulators, Space participation, Space Science

Video: Telexploration project at NASA JPL

Here is a JPL presentation about the use of immersive virtual environments to assist space exploration:

Caption:

How would you like to swim in the oceans of Europa? What would it feel like to climb Mount Olympus on Mars? Is it possible for all of us to experience these journeys together? The goal of the Telexploration project is to make us better explorers by building immersive environments that feel like we are really there. By drawing together technologies from sources as unlikely as the video game industry and advancing the state of the art in human-system interaction, we are working towards low-cost “holodecks” – not only for every NASA mission scientist, but for every person who longs to explore space with us. This presentation will describe our progress towards these ambitious goals as well as the challenges that are ahead.

Speaker:
Dr. Jeff Norris
Lead of the Mission Operations Innovation Office, Mission Systems and Operations Division
Jet Propulsion Laboratory