Category Archives: Contests and Games

Contests and Games, Space participation, Spaceflight & Parabolic Flight

Spaceship Earth Grants (SEG) opens crowdfunding spaceflight sontest

The Spaceship Earth Grant program opens today with a spaceflight contest:

Spaceship Earth Grants Launches Global Crowdfunding Spaceflight Contest
Early applicants can also compete to win a weightless/parabolic flight

Spaceship Earth Grants Launches Global Crowdfunding Spaceflight Contest Early applicants can also compete to win a weightless/parabolic flight SAN DIEGO, CA (September 15, 2014) – Childhood dreams are now within reach and a unique approach to changing the world is underway as Spaceship Earth Grants (SEG) launches a new program to send private citizens to space. With its mission of enabling as many people as possible to have the spaceflight experience, the SEG crew is proud to launch its first contest to crowdfund an open number of spaceflight awards.

SEG_Banner

“Space is thrilling; however, this is not just about creating thrill rides for people. There are aspects of spaceflight that can generate shifts in perspective to positively and profoundly influence the way people behave and think about our world” said former NASA Astronaut Leland Melvin, President of Spaceship Earth Grants. “We want to facilitate that positive impact by awarding space travel to enthusiastic individuals who will be influential ambassadors by sharing their new insights with others in a compelling and inspiring way.”

The contest, presented by Star Harbor Space Training Academy, begins today and is very unique. SEG will initially award one space flight for each 50,000 applications, but will increase the number of awards given per 50,000 applications as the number of applicants grows. This unique approach of offering ever-increasing odds will encourage applicants to share the contest opportunity enthusiastically among their family members, friends and communities worldwide, knowing their own chances of being selected increase as the more people apply.

The SEG Council (judge’s panel) is made up of former NASA astronauts, industry experts, space enthusiasts, celebrity artists, musicians and other influential people representing a wide variety of interests who share our mission of tapping the world’s love of space exploration to benefit our planet, #SpaceshipEarth.

Contest Process:

  1. Create a Basic Profile: September 15 – December 31, 2014
    • Must be 18+
  2. Pay the Application Fee: Application fee is $15 – 90 USD
    • The fee is adjusted according to the relative wealth of the applicant’s home nation, providing opportunities for all of Earth’s citizens to participate.
  3. Complete Application: Must be complete by December 31, 11:59:59 EST, 2014
    • Full application to include a short written summary
    • 90 second video answering the question “How will you use this experience to better yourself, your community or our planet?”
    • Applications may be in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Arabic, Russian or Mandarin
  4. Social Media Rally Period: January 5 – February 28, 2015
    • During this phase applicants are encouraged to leverage their social media networks to garner wider attention and support for why they should be chosen.
  5. List of Finalists Announced by SEG Council: March 20, 2015
    • The primary selection criteria will be the applicants’ demonstration of a clear ability to communicate and a desire to convert their spaceflight experience into a planetary benefit upon their return.
    • Additional selection criteria will also include the level of the applicant’s engagement in the campaign as well as the engagement of the globe with the applicant.
    • Consideration will be given to applicants on a regional basis in an effort to ensure winners represent the diverse geographic locations of the applicant pool.
  6. Grant Winners Announced by SEG Council: April 12, 2015
    1. On the 54th anniversary of the first human spaceflight, winners of the largest
      effort to propel humanity into space will be announced.

Award Packages include:

SPACEFLIGHT AWARDS

  • A trip aboard the winner’s choice of spaceflight providers currently available at time of award announcement
  • Spaceflight Training package from Star Harbor Space Training Academy
  • Travel expenses including coach airfare to/from home country, food/housing and ground transportation

PARABOLIC FLIGHT AWARDS for EARLY APPLICANTS

  • For the first 5,000 profiles created, 1 in every 100 will be selected for a total of 50 Parabolic Flight Awards (full application must be complete by 11:59:59 Dec 31, 2014 to qualify – same selection criteria applies)

A percentage of funds generated will be granted to outstanding organizations around the world that share our mission of creating a world that works for everyone. Initial grants will be made to partner organizations: Fragile Oasis, The Overview Institute, The Planetary Society and Project Nominate. SEG looks forward to launching its organization and project grant program next year after individual winners of the contest are selected.

For more information and full contest terms and conditions, visit spaceshipearthgrant.com.

About Spaceship Earth Grants: Spaceship Earth Grants Corp. (SEG), a Public Benefit Corporation, is committed to making the space experience accessible to as many people as possible. SEG offers applicants a chance to travel to space while helping to fund efforts and organizations that are making a significant positive impact on planet Earth. SEG will be providing grants to individuals and organizations that are likewise committed to bettering their communities. For more information, visit spaceshipearthgrants.com.

About Star Harbor Space Training Academy: Star Harbor Space Training Academy will be the first-in-the-world publicly accessible, fully comprehensive and environmentally immersive space training academy. The Star Harbor team is led by CEO Maraia Hoffman and includes former NASA Astronauts Leland Melvin and Ron Garan. More information about Star Harbor will be announced in October.

Contests and Games, Solar Sci-Fi, Speculation

Project TOOL – A cinematic role playing game in development

Project TOOL is a new role playing game in development by the group Tool Games.

Our goal is to provide a a cinematic and immersive experience that doesn’t compromise on gameplay. Project Tool is inspired by many works of science fiction, and aims to push the genre forward in a faithful but new way. We actively consult with scientists, astronauts, NASA and even some world recognized museums to make a universe that is futuristic, but plausible. When you look at classic Star Trek, you see how much modern technology is inspired by it, with cell phones and more recently, Google Glass being great examples. So in that sense, we want to show people what technology might look like in the future via our game. Ultimately, we want Project Tool to be smart sci-fi, that has awesome gameplay and a fully engrossing storyline.

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Check out the trailer for the game:

And this video focuses on the graphics used in the game:

They are crowd-sourcing the funding for the game with the goal of releasing it at the end of December, 2015.

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Contests and Games, Education

Red Sox Foundation raffle prizes include VIP tour of NASA JSC

An announcement from Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and the Boston Red Sox Foundation:

Red Sox Foundation to Partner with CASIS and
International Space Station

Ring Raffle Promotion to Include Visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center and
Tour of International Space Station Mission Control Facility

Boston, MA – July 16, 2014 – The Boston Red Sox Foundation today announced a truly out of this world collaborative partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the manager of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory. As part of an initial Partnership with the Red Sox Foundation, CASIS will add its support of the ongoing World Series Ring Raffle by adding aonce-in-a-lifetime, VIP trip to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The winner and three guests will receive a private tour of ISS Mission Control and the Astronaut Training Facility, as well as four passes to Space Center Houston and an authentic CASIS Mission Patch that has orbited the Earth. Airfare and hotel accommodations are also included.

This prize package will be available to those who enter the promotional code “CASIS” upon ordering their raffle tickets. These tickets are just $2 each, with a minimum of five tickets purchased, and can be found by visiting www.redsox.com/ringraffle. All proceeds from the Ring Raffle will go toward the Red Sox Foundation’s ongoing commitment to youth in our communities.

The Red Sox Foundation and CASIS are also partnered on an endeavor to generate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) opportunities for its younger fans.

“To be able to partner with CASIS and the ISS is really a thrill,” said Gena Borson, Executive Director of Special Events at the Red Sox Foundation. “And not just for this amazing offer, but so that we can look together at how we may further develop programs focusing on STEM education.”

“We are excited to support the Red Sox Foundation as its dedication to educating the youth in its community is not only commendable but synergistic with our mission of providing unique educational opportunities,” said Duane Ratliff, Chief Operating Officer of CASIS. “One of CASIS’s goals is to support research on the ISS targeted toward improving life and health on earth. In addition, we have the cherished responsibility to use the ISS as the ideal platform for teaching science, technology, engineering and math to the next generation of researchers and leaders.”

Cleon Daskalakis, President of Celebrity Marketing, Inc. and Cofounder of the Celebrities for Charity Foundation, the provider of the online charitable raffle program netRaffle.org, added, “We are excited to have brought CASIS and the Red Sox Foundation together to both provide this unique promotion opportunity for fans to explore Mission Control but also for the future opportunities of providing STEM education with sports as a backdrop. “

Contests and Games, Education, Space Systems

NASA selects 5 university teams to compete in X-Hab competition

An announcement from NASA:

NASA Selects Five Projects for 2015 X-Hab
Academic Innovation Challenge

NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation have selected five universities to design systems, concepts and technologies to enhance capabilities for deep space missions for the 2015 Exploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge.

The selections are the first milestone in a yearlong design and development effort for these five projects. Throughout the 2014-2015 academic year, the teams must meet a series of milestones to design, manufacture, assemble and test their systems and concepts in close cooperation with members of the NASA Exploration Augmentation Module (EAM) concept team.

EAM is a new agency-wide technology development concept managed by the Advanced Exploration Systems Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The EAM will combine several capabilities into a prototype system to augment Orion’s habitation and extra-vehicular activity capabilities for extended deep space missions.

“This is the fifth year of the X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge, and we continue to be impressed by the innovative university proposals to advance capabilities for spaceflight,” said Tracy Gill, NASA lead for the X-Hab Challenge. “We look forward to lending our experience to the teams, to learning from their fresh approaches and to guiding the efforts through the systems engineering process.”

The challenge is a university-level participatory exploration effort designed to encourage studies in spaceflight-related disciplines. The challenge encourages multidisciplinary approaches and strengthens partnerships between NASA, academia and industry. This design challenge requires undergraduate students to explore NASA’s work on development of deep space habitats while also helping the agency gather new ideas to complement its current research and development. NASA selected these five projects from among a group of proposals received in May.

The X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge 2015 teams and projects are:

— University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee: Design of a Carbon-fiber/Fused Deposition Modeling Spacecraft Structural Fabrication System

— University of South Alabama: Development of a Volumetric Adsorption System for CO2 and H2O Multicomponent Isotherm Measurements

— University of Vermont: Design of a “Smart-Structure” Deployable Airlock

— Oklahoma State University: Deployable Greenhouse for food production on long-duration exploration missions
— University of Colorado at Boulder: Deployable Greenhouse for Food Production

This challenge also contributes to the agency’s efforts to train and develop a highly skilled scientific, engineering and technical workforce for the future.

The National Space Grant Foundation will administer the grants to the universities for NASA to fund design, development and evaluation of the systems by members of the NASA teams during the 2014-2015 academic year.

For further information about previous challenges and current challenge requirements, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/x-hab

and http://www.spacegrant.org/xhab/

 

Activism, Contests and Games, Mars

Polish team wins Mars Society Rover Challenge for second time

Kevin Sloan of the Mars Society talked last Friday about the 2014 University Rover Challenge held at the end of May with 21 teams competing: Kevin Sloan, Friday, 6-6-14 – Thespaceshow’s Blog

More about the event:

A group picture of all the teams at the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station in Utah where the competition took place:

URC 2014 Final group photo

From the Mars Society post:

From an initial field of 31, 23 rovers from six countries descended upon the Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) in remote southern Utah for the 2014 University Rover Challenge (URC). Over the course of a grueling three day competition, student teams and their robotic creations had to complete a series of complex tasks in a Mars-like setting, providing a glimpse at the technology that could one day support future astronauts on the Red Planet.

In the end, Team Hyperion from the Bialystok University of Technology (Poland) walked away with the top spot, earning a total of 368 points (out of 500 possible). The victory was the second consecutive for the Hyperion team. Their rover impressed judges and left the competition behind, in large part due to its overall reliability which scored high marks in each event.

The Mars Rover Design Team from the Missouri University of Science & Technology (USA) took second place with 342 points, while the Legendary Rover Team from Rzeszow University of Technology (Poland) finished close behind in third place with 338 points.

The BYU Mars Rover Team from Brigham Young University (USA) came in fourth place and also received the first ever Judges’ Award for the Most Innovative Design. This was awarded in recognition of the team’s novel suspension system that utilized custom Kevlar suspension springs.
 
“Each of the teams on the podium demonstrated remarkable ingenuity, skill and teamwork,” said Kevin Sloan, Director of URC. “Their passion for their work was evident in their rovers and was emblematic of the passion all of the teams had on display this year.”
 
URC is the world’s premier robotics competition for college students, placing them in a stunning and expansive setting faced with myriad challenges that span multiple fields of study. URC is hosted by the Mars Society, the world’s largest space advocacy group dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the Red Planet, and is sponsored by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS) and the Louis L. Stott Foundation.
 
URC 2014 had the largest field of student teams of any previous competition, more than doubling last year’s record of ten teams. Through eight years of the event, URC has engaged 100 teams and more than 1,000 students from across the globe. URC was founded on the principle of challenging ambitious students with ambitious goals and providing students with a world class project experience in a unique environment.