Category Archives: Space participation

Scream in Space via an orbiting smartphone

India today successfully launched seven satellites on a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island. One of the payloads is the STRaND-1 Cubesat built by Surrey Satellite and operated by a “Google Nexus One smartphone with an Android operating system”: World’s first “phonesat”, STRaND-1, successfully launched into orbit – Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL).

The phone provides

cameras, radio links, accelerometers and high performance computer processors – almost everything except solar panels and propulsion.  During the first phase of the mission, STRaND-1 will use a number a number of experimental Apps to collect data while a new high-speed linux-based cubesat computer developed by SSC takes care of the satellite.  During phase two, the STRaND team hope to switch the satellite’s in-orbit operations to the smartphone, thereby testing the capabilities of a number of standard smartphone components for a space environment.

SSTL carried out a public contest for apps to be run on the phone and the winners included apps for magnetic field measurements, satellite telemetry display, and earth imaging,

 

And the fourth app is Scream in Space!

Testing the theory ‘in space no-one can hear you scream, made popular in the 1979 film ‘Alien’, the app will allow the public to upload videos of themselves screaming in a creative way to an allocated website.  The most popular videos will be played on the phone while in orbit and the scream recorded using the smartphone’s microphone.

Here is a gallery of the video screams submitted: Screams | Scream in Space!

Two blogs that point to more ways to space

I recently mentioned Pam Hoffman‘s blog Everyday Spacer, which urges you to “Take Part in Space Exploration Today!”

Another blog that focus on broad public participation in space activities is Path to Mars from artist Renate Pohl. She provides “1001 ways to get to space without being a rocket scientist”.

She also offers a free newsletter and 35 page booklet titled, Blast Off! An Action Plan to Get You to Space.

Amateur videos used to retrace Russian meteoroid + Video of asteroid flyby

Triangulating the path of the meteoroid that produced the giant fireball over Russia last Friday: How Amateur Videos Will Help Astronomers Reconstruct Meteorite’s Life History: Astronomers can retrace space rocks’ paths to find their birthplace. – Popular Science.

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This is the best video I’ve seen so far of asteroid 2012 DA14 as it passed by earth last Friday:  Here’s A Video Of Last Week’s Asteroid Fly-By –  Popular Science

Alan Stern and naming exoplanets

Alan Stern, former head of the New Horizons mission to Pluto and former head of NASA space science division, is also involved in several commercial ventures, including Uwingu, which aims to raise money for space science projects via profit making products and services. The first Uwingu service invites the public to suggest names for the many planets that are being found orbiting other stars. The names selected will not be official or binding but the activity can still be fun for the public. Stern talks with New Scientist about  Uwingu and exoplanet naming: We need to rethink how we name exoplanets – New Scientist.