Category Archives: Contests and Games

“Train Like a Martian Challenge”: Sign up for a week of activities for all ages

The Mars Generation is sponsoring the second Train Like A Martian Challenge event May 22-26, 2017:

Sign up now and join us for our second annual #TrainLikeAMartian event! We expect the event will be a blast!

#TrainLikeAMartian is an entire week of activities to bring awareness to the importance of STEM education, space exploration and physical fitness to students and adults around the world! This is a chance to have fun, spread an important message and also have a chance to win some cool prizes!

Prizes include TMG keychains, TMG magnets, TMG patches, TMG pins, TMG logo t-shirts, TMG logo sweatshirts and more! One lucky participant has the chance to win an OSMO Coding Jam, sponsored by STEM Genius Hour. We are excited to share that our grand prize is a Jade Robot by Mimetics valued at approximately $200 (USD). 

We are also raising funds to support the programs that The Mars Generation operates including sending students with financial need to Space Camp. Fundraising is not required to participate. We have special rewards for donors and fundraisers. Click here to see rewards.

Sign Up Now to qualify for prizes and also receive email updates for the Train Like A Martian Challenge!

NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge awards $100k to two teams in Phase 2: Level 1

NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge selects winners for the first level of the competition:

$100,000 Awarded in 1st Printing Stage of 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge 

Seven teams working on technology that could someday be used to create habitats from materials on other worlds have completed the first printing segment of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. NASA has awarded $100,000 to the two top-scoring teams from this stage, the Phase 2: Level 1 Compression Test Competition. Point-based awards were made to Foster + Partners | Branch Technology of Chattanooga, Tennessee, who earned $85,930, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, earning $14,070.

This cone was 3D-printed by the Foster + Partners | Branch Technology team for the Level 2, Phase 1 Compression Test Competition of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Competition. Foster + Partners scored the most points for this stage, and was awarded $85,930. Credits: Courtesy of Foster + Stearns | Branch Technology

The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is run through a partnership with NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program and Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. The goal of the challenge is to foster the development of technologies to manufacture a habitat using local indigenous materials with, or without, recyclable materials. The vision is that autonomous machines will someday be deployed in deep space destinations, including Mars, to construct shelters for human habitation. On Earth, these same capabilities could be used to produce affordable housing wherever it is needed or where access to conventional building materials and skills are limited.

“Seeing tangible, 3D-printed objects for this phase makes the goals of this challenge more conceivable than ever,” said Monsi Roman, program manager of Centennial Challenges. “This is the first step toward building an entire habitat structure, and the potential to use this technology to aid human exploration to new worlds is thrilling.”

The Level 1 Compression Test Competition is the first of three sub-competitions within Phase 2. For this stage, teams were tasked with developing 3D-printable materials, using a 3-D printer, and printing two samples: a truncated cone and a cylinder. Judges evaluated results from lab tests performed on the samples to determine a score.

A 3D printer created by the University of Alaska team prints a cone for their entry in the Level 2, Phase 1 Compression Test Competition of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Competition. The university was awarded $14,070 for this stage of the challenge. Credits: Courtesy of University of Alaska

“Innovation is a key focus of Bradley University which is one of the many reasons we are so very proud to be a part of the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge with NASA,” said Bradley University President Gary Roberts. “The winners of Phase 1 and this first stage of Phase 2 are to be commended for their innovation in creating a solution that will fit not only in our world but beyond. I look forward to the next phase and seeing teams work to advance critical systems needed for human space exploration like never before.”

In addition to the two teams that earned prize money, the other teams participating were: Bubble Base of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Pennsylvania State University of University Park; CTL Group Mars of Skokie, Illinois; ROBOCON of Singapore; and Moon X Construction of Seoul, South Korea. The teams showcased a variety of approaches, ranging from traditional cement to exotic cellular structures.

Teams will now work toward the Level 2 Beam Member Competition, where they must print a beam to be tested. New teams may enter the competition if they can meet minimum requirements.

The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge comprises three phases: Phase 1, the Design Competition, was completed in 2015. Phase 2, the Structural Member Competition, which carries a $1.1 million prize purse and focuses on the material technologies needed to create structural components. Phase 3, the On-Site Habitat Competition, and has a $1.4 million prize purse and focuses on fabrication technologies.

NASA’s Centennial Challenges Program uses competitions to draw citizen inventors from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to push technology forward for the benefit of space exploration. The Centennial Challenges Program, managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. Bradley University has partnered with sponsors Caterpillar, Bechtel and Brick & Mortar Ventures to run the competition.

For more information about the competition, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/3DPHab

To register for the competition and for official rules and documents, visit: http://bradley.edu/challenge/

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Here is the Foster & Partners release about the award:

Foster + Partners California | Branch Technology win first-prize
in Level 1 of NASA Centennial 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge
 

Foster + Partners California | Branch Technology has been awarded first-place in the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, Phase 2: Level 1 Competition organized by NASA and Bradley University. The competition envisions a future where autonomous machines will help construct extra-terrestrial shelters for human habitation. This will also aid the development of technologies that advance fabrication capabilities on Earth.

While the final shelter will be a complex assembly of smaller building elements, the focus through the various stages of the challenge is to design and test individual prototypical building elements that can help demonstrate the suitability of the entire process from manufacture to construction and structural performance.

As part of this stage of the competition, teams were asked to use recycled mission materials and indigenous Martian regolith (soil) together to 3D-print a truncated cone and a cylinder, which were then subjected to compression testing to assess their suitability as structural components. Foster + Partners has been looking at the engineering geometry of the structures, while Branch Technology have brought their expertise with 3D-printing materials and methods to the project.

Developing optimized solutions that are specifically designed for the complexities of space travel, each of the proposals balances cost, weight, and structural performance against the stringent requirements of the long-term goal of extra-terrestrial habitation.

Having successfully completed Level 1, the team will now work toward the Level 2 Competition submission at the end of May, in which a beam will be printed to test spanning structures.

 

International Space Solar Power Student Project Competition

Several space organizations and advocacy groups are sponsoring a student engineering research/paper competition on the topic of space based solar power:

The International Space Solar Power Student Project Competition

The need to advance the goals of STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) education is especially important in encouraging the emergence of future generations of researchers, technologists and innovators in the space sector in general, and in particular in the special fields of expertise required for the successful exploration, development and eventual settlement of space. The critical topic of Space Solar Power (SSP) – harvesting solar energy in space affordably and delivering it to markets in space and on Earth – has been studied as a vision for Humanity’s future for almost 50 years. And yet there are almost no courses (and no degrees of which we are aware) offered on this topic at either the undergraduate or the graduate levels in accredited colleges or universities.

If Space Solar Power – which is critical to space development and settlement – is to become a reality, this must change.

In a new cooperative effort, SPACE Canadai, the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Power Committee, the Global Space Solar Power Working Group (GSSP-WG) of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), the National Space Society (NSS) International Space Development Conference (ISDC) SSP Track, and the IAF Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC; to be invited) are organizing an annual faculty advised, student-conducted international research and engineering research/paper competition on the topic of Space Solar Powerii. Upon request, additional details concerning the competition will be provided; the key points are as follows:

1. This will be an annual competition; the first year will be this year, 2017.iii

2. The purpose of the competition is to engender new, meaningful and credible student research projects in the broad field of Space Solar Power, and to support the presentation of the best of the various projects in an international forum including explicit recognition of the best research with a formal prize.

3. The International Space Solar Power Student Competition Prize will have four parts: (a) travel and registration support for selected semi-finalist teams to attend the annual ISDC (see below); (b) a formal certificate of recognition for selected semifinalist teams (as a team, and for each team member, including the faculty advisor); (c) travel and registration support for one or two selected finalist team(s) to attend the annual IAC SSP Symposium (see below); (d) a formal certificate and a plaque for the selected winning team(s) (the plaque for the team, and a certificate for each participant, including the faculty advisor).

4. The competition is open to participation by faculty-coached, student-implemented project team, including a faculty advisor, not fewer than two undergraduate students and potentially one or more graduate students from any accredited international college or university. A given project team may involve more than a single university in an integrated team; however, each team from any participating college or university must include not less than two undergraduate students and one faculty advisor.

5. The competition will involve three stages: (1) registration and proposal / abstract submission; (2) preliminary presentation of interim results at the Space Solar Power Track of the annual NSS ISDC (in late May each year); and (3) final presentation (with a formal technical paper) of the one or two best projects at the IAF Power Committee Solar Power Satellite (SPS) Symposium at the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (in late September each year).

6. Semi-finalists in the annual competition will be chosen by an independent review process based on submitted abstracts and draft presentation materials; these will be provided with a fixed level of financial support for their attendance and presentation of interim results at the annual ISDC SSP Track. (Participation in the ISDC must comprise not less than one student team member and one faculty advisor; however otherwise the decision as to who should participate and how the funds should be distributed among team members to meet travel and registration costs will be flexible.)

7. Finalists in the annual competition will be chosen by an independent review process based on the presentations made at the annual ISDC SSP Track, and updated draft research presentation results. In the event that no project teams are adjudged to have achieved a sufficiently high level of technical accomplishment in a given year, no award will be made during that year.

8. The chosen winner(s) will be provided with a fixed level of financial support for their attendance and presentation of interim results at the annual IAC SPS Symposium. A formal paper is required, and must be submitted to the IAC according to the rules of the conference. (Participation in the IAC must comprise not less than one student team member and one faculty advisor; however otherwise the decision as to who should participate and how the funds should be distributed among team members to meet travel and registration costs will be flexible.)

9. In order to be eligible, members of each competing team (as described elsewhere) must be available and able to attend and present at the ISDC (semi-finalist) and the IAC (finalist).

10. The competition will encompass multiple disciplines, but will be focused each year around a particular Solar Power Satellite concept. During 2017-2018, the focus will be on highly-modular microwave wireless power transmission (WPT) Solar Power Satellite concepts as embodied in the “SPS-ALPHA” concept (Solar Power Satellite by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array) and related SPS architectural concepts. Details are available upon request.

11. The acceptable disciplines/fields for research projects include (a) architecture level studies; (b) end-to-end energy concepts & technology (including wireless power transmission (WPT), solar power generation, etc.); (c) structural systems, controls and dynamics technology; (d) space transportation technology and engineering for SPS (including Earth-to-orbit or in-space transportation and/or propulsion); (e) space resources utilization for SPS; (f) ground systems and integration; (g) near-term SPS system and technology demonstration concepts; and (h) space policy, legal and regulatory considerations across all of the above (including international cooperation, spectrum management, space debris, etc., etc.).

12. The first deadline for participation in the 2017 competition is the development and submission of an abstract for a proposed student research project by not later than March 29, 2017.

We look forward to the active participation by students and faculty from accredited colleges and universities globally in this new competition. If you would like to indicate interest in participating, and to obtain additional information, please contact us at the email address below.

With best regards,
John C. Mankins
Lead, International Space Solar Power Student Competition
Member of the Board, SPACE Canada
Secretary, IAF Power Committee
Co-Chair, ISDC Space Solar Power Track

For additional information, please contact us at: sspstudentcompetition@gmail.com

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i SPACE Canada is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Canada; the purpose of the organization is to promote international dialogue on and understanding of the topic of Space Solar Power.

ii It is anticipated that with time some organizations may be added as participants in implementing the annual competition, while others may choose not to be involved; as the foundation of the competition, SPACE Canada is the principal sponsor of the effort, and the prizes. Cooperation has been established among SPACE Canada, the IAF Power Committee, the IAF Power Committee and the ISDC SSP Track organizers. Participation by the IAF SGAC is anticipated, but must still be confirmed.

iii This competition builds upon and integrates two previous independent events: an annual SSP visualization competition held in conjunction with the NSS ISDC conference, and a yearly SSP student paper competition resulting in a paper and presentation at the annual International Astronautical Congress (IAC), organized by the IAF Power Committee and the IAF SGAC.

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Space Nation Astronaut Program – train for a chance to go to space

The Space Nation Astronaut Program aims to involve the public in space flight. Their first initiative is a space flight training app for cell phones with

which people all around the world can compete in challenges to gain a deeper understanding of space exploration and the science and technology behind human spaceflight. Candidates earn points by completing tasks and advance through multiple merit levels to earn the ultimate mission: a trip to space.

The trip to space will be on a suborbital rocket vehicle.

The Finland base project is a collaboration of four companies – Cohu Experience, Axiom Space (commercial space station builder), Fun Academy, and Edge of Space (high alt balloons) – who plan “to create concrete ways to make space travel dreams possible for everyone”.

crowd-funding campaign has raised over 2,350,000 euros in just the first few days. Here is a video outlining the Space Nation plan:

More at Finnish company raising funds for astronaut training competition – SpaceNews.com