Space Apps Challenge Ready For Launch
The International Space Apps Challenge represents the latest in NASA's technology acceleration and innovation emphasis as well as the commitment to the Administration's Open Government Initiative. The event emphasizes quick, collaborative development, and offers immeasurable opportunities for citizens to contribute to NASA's mission through hardware and software development, diverse participation, and validation of the immense value of spaceflight data to improving life on Earth. Solutions to over 60 challenges related to open source software, open hardware, citizen science platforms, and data visualization will be worked on throughout the event.
Yahoo and NASA Flight Readiness Review Recap
On April 10, 2012, the Yahoo Developer Network partnered with us here on the International Space Apps Challenge planning team to host a pre-event for the Challenge that will take place this weekend; a Flight Readiness Review for the challenges that will be worked at the event itself. The evening kicked off with a short overview presentation of the Challenge and some background from experience with Random Hacks of Kindness. What we know from RHoK is that these events can be incredibly successful, but often there are questions and stumbling blocks that could be avoided if the challenges were simply assessed a little more ahead of time – this was the motivation for this pre-event with the Yahoo Developer Network. We wanted to ask the right questions ahead of time so that when the “mission” itself occurs we have all of the tools and information available and ready so that the challenges can be worked in an efficient and successful manner.
The Virtual Participants of the Apps Challenge
We are so excited thinking about the fact that the International Space Apps Challenge could be happening in a coffee shop in Italy, a dorm room in Michigan or anywhere else that people decide to participate.
Behind the Site: spaceappschallenge.org
If you follow openNASA, you’ve no doubt heard of the International Space Apps Challenge – our global codeathon taking place on all seven continents and in space next month. Two weeks ago, we launched a new website for the Challenge that allows visitors to sign up for events, view and submit challenges, and learn more about the event. We put a lot of effort in to making it cutting edge by using the latest web technologies and standards to provide an excellent user experience. This post will showcase just some of the methods we used to make the site, and give you some ideas for creating one yourself.
NASA Joins Yahoo for 'Flight Readiness Review' of Space Apps Challenges
[This is] a rather large task, and so we enlisted the help of some very dedicated Yahoos. (Yes, Yahoos.)
Making Space
When you're involved with humanitarian response and hacking, you see the worst and best of humanity on a pretty regular basis. Technology and intense situations have the ability to pull out the most extreme aspects of human nature. That means most mornings I wake up to Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about the wonder of space. Space exploration is one of the few things that has been able to unite and inspire people that isn't the Us-Vs-Them of conflict.
Bringing People Together
For over a year, @america, the world’s first high-tech American Cultural Center, has been creating dialogue between young Indonesians and young Americans on issues that matter. So, when NASA asked if @america would host the Space Apps Challenge in Jakarta, we jumped at the opportunity. I can’t think of a better way to bring young Indonesian coders and technologists together with their counterparts around the globe, using their talents to work on global issues. It’s a perfect fit for @america’s mission and it sounds like fun.
Making #spaceapps physical
The NASA Open Government Initiative is excited to invite David McGloin, a physicist in the Electronic Engineering and Physics Division at the University of Dundee, Scotland, to share about their recent work to help shape the upcoming International Space Apps Challenge. His primary work is concerned with optics and the application of optics to environmental and biophysical problems. First enthused about physics by space shuttle launches and finding about how stars work, he is excited to be part of the NASA Space Apps Challenge. You can follow David on Twitter at @DundeePhysics.