Contests and Games, Space participation

Uwingu opens “Adopt-a-Planet” campaign

Uwingu announces a new campaign:

Uwingu Launches World’s First ‘Adopt-a-Planet’ Campaign

Space company Uwingu announces the launch of the world’s first ‘Adopt-a-Planet’ campaign. This open-ended campaign gives anyone in the public—worldwide—the opportunity to adopt planets around other stars at www.uwingu.com.

May 1, 2013 – BOULDER, Colo. — Boulder, Colorado— Today, space company UwinguTM announced the launch of the world’s first ‘Adopt-a-Planet’ campaign. This open-ended campaign gives anyone in the public—worldwide—the opportunity to adopt exoplanets in astronomical databases via Uwingu’s web site at www.uwingu.com. Proceeds from the naming and voting will continue to help fuel new Uwingu grants to fund space exploration, research, and education.

Astronomers have detected and confirmed over 700 planets orbiting distant stars. Called ‘exoplanets,’ these planets have been given technical names such as “HD 222582 b” by astronomers, but not memorable human-friendly names, like the constellations or comets have. Via the Adopt-a-Planet campaign, Uwingu, working with the public, plans to create names for many or even all of these fascinating, distant worlds.

In Uwingu’s Adopt-a-Planet campaign, any nominated name that reaches 1,000 votes will qualify its namer to adopt the exoplanet of their choice with that name. Winners can choose which planet they would like to name from exoplanet lists created by astronomers.

Adopted planets and the planet’s name’s originator will be publicized by Uwingu. Additionally, the namer will receive $100 in Uwingu store credits, an adoption certificate, and links to in-depth information about their adopted planet. The first 10 names to reach adoption status will receive $500 in Uwingu naming/voting credits as a bonus.

Uwingu will also give recognition to names that reach thresholds of 100 and 500 votes as they climb toward adoption eligibility.

“This is a great way for the worldwide public to connect to the sky and space!” said Uwingu CEO and astronomer Dr. Alan Stern. Stern continued, “In our Adopt-a-Planet campaign every person who nominates a planet can win, and at their own pace, knowing they are funding space research and education along the way.”

Uwingu’s current “baby book” of names is growing daily, with over 1,240 names submitted to date.

===

About Uwingu: Uwingu (which means “sky” in Swahili, and is pronounced “oo-wing-oo”) was formed by a team of leading astronomers, planetary scientists, former space program executives, and educators. The company includes space historian and author Andrew Chaikin, space educator Dr. Emily CoBabe-Ammann, citizen science leader Dr. Pamela Gay, author and former museum science director Dr. David Grinspoon, planet hunter Dr. Geoff Marcy, planetary scientist and aerospace executive Dr. Teresa Segura, planetary scientist and former NASA science boss Dr. Alan Stern, planetary scientist and CEO of the Planetary Science Institute, Dr. Mark Sykes, former Executive Director of the Planetary Society Dr. Louis Friedman, and space artists Jon Lomberg and Dan Durda. In September, Uwingu successfully concluded one of the 25 largest Indiegogo crowd-funding campaigns ever to launch an ongoing series of public engagement projects. Visit Uwingu’s web site at www.uwingu.com to learn more.
Contests and Games, Space participation

Nine year old wins contest to name OSIRIS-REx target asteroid

1 Comment

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission will take off in 2016 on a mission to visit the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid (101955) . It will grab a sample of the object and bring it back to earth for analysis.

The name 101955 is, to say the least, a bit boring. So the University of Arizona (home of the OSIRIS-REx mission lead team), The Planetary Society and MIT Lincoln Laboratory (the home institution of the discoverers of the asteroid) sponsored a contest to give it a new name.

Today it was announced that the name Bennu was selected. It was proposed by Mike Puzio, age 9, of North Carolina. He said

that the large heron-like Touch-and-Go Sample Mechanism (TAGSAM) arm and winged OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made him think of Bennu. Puzio stated, “The winged OSIRIS-REx and its heron-like TAGSAM evoke attributes of Bennu, as does the egg shape of the asteroid itself.”

Bennu was an important avian deity in ancient Egypt and one of the symbols of the god Osiris. Egyptians usually depicted Bennu as a gray heron. The double nature of asteroids delivering life’s molecules and sometimes bringing destruction such as the recent fall in Chelyabinsk, Russia, inspired the mission name, OSIRIS-REx, and now the asteroid’s name.

More here:

History

Video: The Mercury Control Center

NASA Kennedy Space Center posted this program about the Mercury control center.

Caption:

Before one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind, a team of daring space pioneers and a pair of experimental rocket projects came together and set forth in the nation’s first pursuit to further humankind’s understanding of the Earth and the heavens. With the eyes on the sky and the future of space exploration beyond the horizon, flight controllers inside NASA’s Mercury Control Center watched the American space program take flight. And so here, the story of American space exploration began.

Space Policy

Space policy roundup – April 30, 2013

An extended look at the President’s proposed NASA budget: Further Analysis of NASA’s 2014 Budget Proposal – The Planetary Society.

The AAS doesn’t like the planetary science funding in the budget:

===

Jeff Foust reports on the recent Planetary Defense Conference 2013 in Flagstaff, Arizona and the discussions and studies presented their regarding possible what to do if a large object was found heading towards earth: Planetary defense: deflection and disruption – The Space Review

===

Res Communis posts the latest collection of space and aviation law, regulation and policy links: Library: A Round-up of Reading

===

There will be a conference at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies in Belgium on 12-13 September 2013 that will deal with “legal and policy aspects of the commercial use of space and space tourism”: Call for Papers: Commercial Use of Space & Space Tourism – Legal and Policy Aspects -Res Communis.

Everyone can participate in space