Category Archives: Contests and Games

Contests and Games, Mars, Space Science

Winner of Mars One University Competition announced

The Mars One organization has been running a contest to select one of ten university team finalists for an experiment payload on an unmanned lander mission. Today they announced the winning team:

The winner of the Mars One University Competition
will bring life to Mars in 2018

Amersfoort, 5th January 2015 – Mars One is proud to present the winner of the Mars One University Competition: Seed. The Seed team is an important step closer to sending their payload to Mars. The winning payload will fly to the surface of Mars on Mars One’s 2018 unmanned lander mission. Seed was selected by popular vote from an initial 35 university proposals and this is the first time the public has decided which payload receives the extraordinary opportunity to land on Mars.

“We were generally very pleased with the high quality of the university proposals and the amount of effort associated with preparing them,” said Arno Wielders, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Mars One. “Seed itself is uniquely inspiring since this would be the first time a plant will be grown on Mars.”

The Winning Team – Seed aims to germinate the first seed on Mars in order to contribute to the development of life support systems and provide a deeper understanding of plant growth on Mars. The payload will consist of an external container, which provides protection from the harsh environment, and interior container, which will hold several seed cassettes. The seeds will stem from the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which is commonly used in space plant studies. After landing, the seeds inside the cassette will be provided with conditions for germination and seedling growth. The growth will then be recorded using images transmitted back to Earth.

“We are really pleased to be the selected project among so many excellent ideas. We are thrilled to be the first to send life to Mars! This will be a great journey that we hope to share with you all!” said Teresa Araújo, Seed team member.

Seed consists of four bioengineering students from the University of Porto and two PhD students from MIT Portugal and the University of Madrid. The team is supported by Dr. Maria Helena Carvalho, plant researcher at IBMC and Dr. Jack van Loon, from the VU Medical Center, VU-University in Amsterdam, and support scientist at ESTEC-ESA. Seed benefits from scientific and technical support from several advisers, whose expertise range from biological systems to spacecraft development and validation. Read more about Seed here.

An in-depth technical analysis of the winning proposal will be conducted to ensure that the winner has a feasible plan and that their payload can be integrated on the 2018 Mars lander. Mars One and its advisers will contribute to the analysis by thoroughly and critically examining the Seed proposal.

If Seed runs into any issues regarding feasibility or can not stick to the schedule, Mars One will fall back on the runner ups of the university competition. The second and third placed projects are Cyano Knights and Lettuce on Mars.

More information

About Mars One

Mars One is a not-for-profit foundation that will establish permanent human life on Mars. Human settlement on Mars is possible today with existing technologies. Mars One’s mission plan integrates components that are well tested and readily available from industry leaders worldwide. The first footprint on Mars and lives of the crew thereon will captivate and inspire generations. It is this public interest that will help finance this human mission to Mars.

Contests and Games, Space Arts

NASA sponsors children’s art contest for 2015 calendar

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Here’s an contest that combines art, rockets, space and education:  Calling All Young Artists – Commercial Crew Program –

Hey Kids – Contribute to the 2015 Commercial Crew Calendar!

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program wants you to help draw out our future in space exploration! We’re going to put out a calendar for 2015 in a few weeks and it will be up to you to decide how it will look. The best thing is that it will be really easy, and you could see your work featured on the Commercial Crew Website!

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 CCP-Planner-Artwork-Form_final (pdf) 

We have some rules for submitting your drawings, so you’ll have to print out a few forms then fill them out with your parent’s help, scan them to send them back to us via email at ksc-connect2ccp@mail.nasa.gov. We’re also including a template for you to draw on, which will help us lay out the calendar.

We’re looking for the best drawings in 12 categories, so get out your art tools and let your imagination fly through space with us! One last thing: the deadline for submissions is Dec. 15 at noon Eastern. Now the fun stuff, the categories . . .

1. Spacecraft: NASA’s spacecraft of the past had thousands of nobs and dials. Today’s commercial crew spacecraft will use touch screens, 3D printed seats and engines, and will be lightweight, but tough enough to withstand meteorites. What would your spacecraft look like?

2. Launch Vehicle: The commercial crew rockets that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station will be smaller than NASA’s previous Saturn V and space shuttle systems. Their missions are different, so their capabilities are different. Think of it like riding your bike to see your next-door neighbor, instead of driving a semi-truck on a cross-country trek. Let’s see your best rocket drawing!

3. Spacesuits: An astronaut’s spacesuit is like his or her own personal spacecraft. Commercial crew spacesuits will keep astronauts safe by providing breathable air and a cool temperature. They also will enable constant communication with people monitoring their health here on the ground. Design your own spacesuit . . . let’s see your inner fashionista!

4. Spacecraft Interior: Every spacecraft’s interior has been unique and advanced for its time. Apollo was very different from the space shuttle, and both are very different from the commercial crew systems that astronauts will use to fly to the International Space Station. Today’s spacecraft could feature tablet-like technology, 3D printed seats, Wi-Fi and much more.What would you want inside your spacecraft?

5. Florida Space Coast Launches: The rumble . . . the glow . . . the excitement! Every time NASA has launched people off the surface of Earth and into space, it has been from Florida’s Space Coast. In the next couple years, we will see commercial crew engines glow orange and plumes of smoke as astronauts again launch to the International Space Station from Florida. In the 2030s, we will also see astronauts launching from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center as they begin their journey to Mars. Who do you plan to watch launches with? Family, friends, perhaps Florida’s abundant wildlife?

6. International Space Station: Look up! The International Space Station is orbiting about 250 miles above the surface of Earth, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. On board, astronauts conduct ground-breaking research that helps us here on Earth. They also are learning what it takes to live for long periods of time in space, which will help them on their journey to Mars. Commercial crew will help add an additional crew member to the station, essentially doubling the research potential of today. Show us your best rendition of the space station, remember it’s the size of a football field!

7. Research: Every day, astronauts perform research aboard the International Space Station, which is commercial crew’s ultimate destination. That research makes our lives better here on Earth, helps us understand more about our own planet and prepares us for longer missions to Mars. What kind of space research are you most interested in?

8. Lifeboat: Similar to lifeboats on a cruise ship, commercial crew spacecraft that will fly astronauts to the International Space Station are designed to safely and quickly evacuate the station’s crew in an emergency. How would you keep a crew safe in space?

9. Enabling Deep-Space Exploration: Commercial crew spacecraft will go to the International Space Station about 250 miles above Earth. But the solar system has hundreds of other interesting places, too! Future astronauts could use other spacecraft to explore asteroids that are close enough to Earth, or maybe even a comet. Where would you send a spacecraft

10. Encouraging NASA’s Journey to Mars: By encouraging private companies to provide human transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit – a region NASA’s been visiting since 1962 – America’s space agency will get the most research and experience out of the nation’s orbiting laboratory. Commercial crew allows NASA to expand its focus to build spacecraft and rockets for flights to Mars.  Imagine yourself on the surface of Mars . . .

11. Landing: Spacecraft landings are quite impressive. After flying through space and re-entering the atmosphere at 17,500 miles per hour, spacecraft have to land smoothly to protect the astronauts and scientific research they carry. Commercial crew spacecraft designers are looking at options to land with parachutes and airbags, fly to a runway, similar to an airplane, or land using only rocket engines. Show us your most creative landing.

12. You Could Fly to Space: Remember when only astronauts could go to space? NASA won’t be the only customer for new commercial crew spacecraft. Companies will own and operate their crew transportation systems and be able to sell services to other customers . . . will you be one of them? What would you do in space?

And here’s all you need to get started: CCP-Planner-Artwork-Form_final (pdf)

Contests and Games, Simulators, Software

Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager – “the ultimate game of space exploration”

The UK company Slitherine Ltd  created the space-themed game Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager.

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Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager (SPM) Road to the Moon is the ultimate game of space exploration.

It is the mid 1950s and the race for dominance between the US and the Soviet Union is about to move into a new dimension: space. Take charge of the US or Soviet space agencies – your duty is be the first to the moon. Carefully manage your budget by opening programs, spending R&D funds on improving the hardware, recruiting personnel and launching space missions in this realistic turn based strategy game.

Road to the Moon features the race to the Moon, the historical event that started in the early 1960s and that ended in July 1969, after the successful completion of the Apollo 11 mission.

The game features both a campaign and a sandbox mode. In campaign mode, you will be able to play as the Director of either NASA or the Soviet Space Agency in order to beat the other side to be the first on the Moon. You can also lead the  Global Space Agency (GSA), an fictional space agency that combines programs from all the major space agencies in the world . In the GSA campaign, you will need to address the requests and short-term goals issued by government, and is geared towards those players who prefer a game experience focused on exploration instead of competition.  Alternatively, all three space agencies feature a Sandbox mode, which provides a more open-ended experience and allows you to try out different approaches without any political pressure.

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You will be able to develop dozens of programs. Some examples include the X-15 and the PKA space planes, the Sputnik satellite, the Mercury, Voskhod, Apollo and Soyuz manned spacecraft and the Mars Viking probe. You are not limited to missions that did launch, as as the game also allows you to try out many concepts that were planned but that never left the drawing board. For example, instead of sending men to the Moon using the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) approach used by Project Apollo in the late 1960s and early 1970s, you will be able to rewrite history and use either the alternative Gemini Earth Orbit Rendezvous (EOR) or Gemini Direct Ascent (DA) schemes. The number of options available ensure every game will be different and there is huge replay value.

To verify its accuracy and authenticity, the game, is being developed in consultation with Dr. Buzz Aldrin, former U.S. Air Force combat pilot (66 missions in Korea) and NASA astronaut, who took part in the first Moon landing mission and became the second human being to walk on the Moon.

If you have any interest in space exploration and the events that transpired during the ‘Race to the Moon’, this is a game you just do not want to miss!

Continue…

Some background about the game: Second man to walk on moon helps create space game (From This Is Local London)

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Here are a couple of reviews:

Contests and Games, Simulators, Space Settlement

Kickstarter for “High Frontier” space colony sim nears goal

The crowd-funding campaign in support of development of the High Frontier space settlement simulator (see earlier post here), is just $1.5k short of reaching its $10K goal by Nov.26th : High Frontier by Joe Strout — Kickstarter.

The Space Frontier Foundation has endorsed the campaign: Space Frontier Foundation Endorses “High Frontier” Video Game Kickstarter — Space Frontier Foundation.

The goals of the High Frontier project are such a perfect fit with Space Frontier Foundation’s objectives, that SFF is offering a free membership to everyone who pledges $25 or more to the project.  Existing members are also strongly encouraged to help, as the success of High Frontier will directly support SFF’s mission of opening the space frontier for all.

And here is an article about the sim: Blasting Off From Colorado, High Frontier Aims to Be the Most Realistic Space Game Ever – Denver Westword –

Players in High Frontier begin by designing their colonies piece by piece, adding living spaces, solar generators, communications arrays and other components together into a single station. Then they sit back and watch as new residents arrive and populate the colony, gauging their reactions to their new home via messages on a Twitter-like network called Squawker.

The game gives players almost-total control over the parameters of their colony — its shape, the soil depth, the thickness of the radiation shielding — and every detail makes a difference. Make it rotate too slowly, and residents will become weak from the low gravity; neglect to put in enough radiators, and they’ll complain about the stifling heat. Botch the geometry of the colony, and it will spin wildly, throwing everything inside out of whack.

Here is the Kickstarter video again:

Contests and Games, Education, Mars

NASA opens Mars Ascent Vehicle Challenge

A new NASA sponsored contest:

NASA Opens Registration For Inaugural
Mars Ascent Vehicle Challenge

Registration is open for the 2015 NASA Centennial Challenges’ Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) Prize, which will take place April 7-12, 2015. The competition carries a prize purse of $50,000 and will be held in Huntsville, Alabama, in conjunction with the NASA Student Launch event, an academic engineering design challenge that provides resources and experiences for students and faculty.

Graphic for MAV Challenge

The Mars Ascent Vehicle Prize will aid NASA in advancing technologies that could be used to return samples from Mars in the future. The challenge focuses on simulating the collection of samples from the Martian surface, placing them into Mars orbit for collection and returning them to Earth. This new challenge is open to both academic and non-academic teams to demonstrate technologies that may be relevant to potential future NASA Science Mission Directorate Mars missions. This challenge has no relation to NASA missions currently in development such as the Mars 2020.

“The MAV Prize is an opportunity for us to team up with an established academic competition and invite teams of all kinds to work in parallel on technologies that will aid in future Mars exploration,” said Sam Ortega, Centennial Challenges program manager.

The Challenge requires reliable, autonomous sample insertion into the rocket, launch from the surface, and deployment of the sample container. Innovative technology from this competition could be considered in future planning for a Mars exploration mission.

Centennial Challenges will award prizes for successful demonstration of an end-to-end autonomous operation to sequentially accomplish the following tasks: picking up the sample, inserting the sample into a single stage solid-propellant rocket in a horizontal position, erecting the rocket, launching the rocket to an altitude of 3,000 feet, deploying a sample container, and landing the container safely while following the National Association of Rocketry guidelines.

The first-place award is $25,000; second-place is $15,000; and third-place is $10,000.  Competing teams will be eligible for prize money only after the successful completion of all the required tasks.

Interested teams may apply for the challenge by submitting a registration proposal to the Student Launch project office. Details for submitting the proposal and complete rules may be found in the handbook.

The Centennial Challenges program is part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA’s future missions. It is managed out of Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

For more information about the MAV Prize, visit: www.nasa.gov/mavprize

For more information about NASA Student Launch, visit: go.usa.gov/dW9w