Category Archives: Education

Education, Events, Uncategorized

Galaxy Forum USA 2013 – July 4th, Santa Clara, California

An announcement from International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) and the Space Age Publishing Company the following educational space event”:

GALAXY FORUM USA 2013
Galaxy Education, Galaxy Exploration and Galaxy Enterprise in the 21st Century

JULY 4, 2013

Thursday Morning 9:30 – 11:30
Embassy Suites Santa Clara
2885 Lakeside Drive, Santa Clara

Presentations by:

  • Mariska Kriek, University of California, Berkeley
    Growing Galaxies

  • Steve Durst, Int’l Lunar Observatory Assoc / SPC Founder
    ILO Galaxy First Light Imaging and Exploration

  • Marco Pavone, Asst Professor, Stanford University
    Surface Exploration of Small Solar System Bodies: Challenges and Prospects

  • Tony Cardoza of Cardoza-Bungey Travel in Palo Alto,  Accredited Space Agent for Virgin Galactic
    Pioneering Businesses with Galactic Aspirations

  • Panel Discussion

This FREE event is open to the public. Seating is limited. Please RSVP today: info@iloa.org or 650-324-3705

Presented by ILOA and Space Age Publishing Co.

Education, Rocketry

Vanderbilt team takes top prize in NASA’s Student Launch Challenge

The results of this year’s  Student Launch Projects competition are in:

Vanderbilt Takes Top Prize in NASA Student Launch Challenge

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Aerospace Club of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., took first prize in the 2013 annual NASA Student Launch Projects challenge, in which student teams design, build and fly small rockets with science payloads to an altitude of 1 mile and return them safely to Earth.

After two consecutive third-place finishes, Vanderbilt beat 35 other colleges and universities to win the $5,000 top prize, provided by ATK Aerospace Group of Promontory, Utah. The University of Louisville in Kentucky and Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, won second and third place, respectively, in the April 21 “launch fest” at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala., near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

After months of preparation, each team had an opportunity to launch its rocket and payload. NASA judges evaluated the rocket designs based on a series of technical design reviews, the results from the rocket’s flight including altitude, and the operation of the payload. The judges also evaluated each team’s written report and its outreach activities including a website documenting the experience and local educational engagement campaigns to share their enthusiasm for rocketry. The challenge seeks to inspire younger students to pursue technical learning fields, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“This program is a valuable tool for students and their teachers because they use all the knowledge gained in a classroom setting to tackle a real-world challenge,” said Tammy Rowan, manager of Marshall’s Academic Affairs Office, which manages the rocketry challenge. “They stretch those STEM skills to create a complex machine, which could lead them to a future in the aerospace industry. Plus, their enthusiasm when they finally see their creations fly is inspirational to those who already work in the many different aspects of space exploration.”
In addition to the top prize, the Vanderbilt University team also took home the Best Payload Design for the most creative and innovative payload experiment.

Third-place Tarleton State also won three additional recognitions: the Rookie Award; the Science Mission Directorate Payload Award for most creative and innovative payload design while maximizing safety and science value; and the Best Team Spirit prize, a peer award voted on by all the rocket teams.

Alabama A&M University in Huntsville won the Altitude Award for coming closest to the 1-mile mark without going over — only 11 feet shy of 5,280 feet above ground.

The University of Louisville team won three awards: Best Vehicle Design for the most creative, innovative and safety-conscious rocket; Best Web Design; and the Education Engagement Award. The team from Mississippi State University in Starkville won the Project Review Award for their reviews and formal presentations and also finished in fifth place overall. The student teams voted the University of Nebraska in Lincoln as winner of this year’s Best-Looking Rocket.

NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, Science Mission Directorate and Office of Education, all in Washington, sponsor the Student Launch Projects challenge. ATK provides corporate sponsorship. The National Association of Rocketry provides technical review and launch support.

Hundreds of flight enthusiasts cheered the student rocketeers at the launch site. More than 8,000 individual viewers also watched the event live on Marshall’s UStream channel. Archived launch-day coverage is available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc

For complete lists of participating students, visit:   http://education.msfc.nasa.gov/slp

Visit NASA Student Launch Projects on Facebook and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/NASAStudentLaunch and http://twitter.com/SLI_1MILEHIGH

For more information about NASA education projects, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/education

Contests and Games, Education, Living in Space

NASA Lunabotics Mining Competition on May 20-24 at KSC

NASA posts an update on the Lunabotics Mining Competition for students:

NASA Invites Media to Annual Lunabotics Mining Competition

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Fifty teams of undergraduate and graduate students from around the world will demonstrate their lunar excavator robots May 20 – 24 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Practice sessions for the fourth annual Lunabotics Mining Competition will take place May 20 – 21, followed by the official competition. Media representatives are invited to cover the event on Wednesday, May 22 from 12 – 4 p.m. EDT, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For access to the facility, journalists should contact Catherine Segar at 321-449-4273 or csegar@dncinc.com. Requests for interviews with NASA representatives must be submitted to Tracy Young at 321-867-2468 or tracy.g.young@nasa.gov.

The teams have designed and built remote controlled or autonomous robots that can excavate simulated lunar dirt. During the competition, the teams’ designs — known as lunabots — will go head-to-head to determine which machine can collect and move the most simulated lunar dirt within a specific amount of time.

The competition is a NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate project designed to engage and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields by expanding opportunities for student research and design. The project provides a competitive environment to foster innovative ideas and solutions that could potentially be applied to future NASA missions.

Although the competition is for college students, the event offers many opportunities for students of all ages. NASA is hosting a college recruitment fair for high school sophomores, juniors and seniors showcasing STEM education opportunities available at top colleges and universities across the nation.

For more information on Lunabotics 2013, associated activities and social media links to participate virtually, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/lunabotics

Video highlights of the practice and competition will air on the NASA Television Video File. For downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, visit: http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com