DIY Space Experiment: NASA-MAKE Space Technology Competition
photo courtesy of Makemagazine.com
MAKE magazine, Teachers in Space, and NASA’s Emerging Commercialization Space Office (ECSO) are collaborating to hold the first MAKE Challenge. Students will submit ideas and prototypes for experiments that will be sent into suborbital space. High school teachers attending the Suborbital Flight Experiment Workshop will assemble the experiment kits, which will be flown into space aboard a commercial unmanned suborbital shuttle. The shuttle, Excelsior STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), is sponsored by Teachers in Space, who are also offering the workshop.
Submitted experiments must be composed of materials easily found inside a high school and fit in a standard Cubesat (a standard satellite often used in low-orbit research). In an effort to make the contest widely available, the materials should cost $100 or less.
The NASA MAKE Challenge is designed to generate renewed interest in science and technology as well as make space a more familiar subject in the classroom. “The results from this partnership will excite schools and help reverse the decades-long decline in hands-on technology education,” said Edward Wright, project manager of Teachers in Space. Besides educational benefits, the contest will give aspiring space enthusiasts a chance to make a real contribution to the scientific community.
The submission deadline is April 30th, 2011. Sign up for the MAKE Challenge mailing list for more details. The winning project will be featured in MAKE magazine and will be showcased at the 2011 Bay Area Maker Faire.
