The Challenge
Background:
NASA astronaut Victor Glover said “Remember who is doing space. People are. As we address extreme weather and pandemic disease, we will understand and overcome racism and bigotry so we can safely and together do space.”
Racism is currently at the forefront of media, and societies are full of debates and discussions on the topic. This is prime time for all of us to figure out how to experience overview effect— a term coined by space philosopher and writer Frank White to describe the cognitive effects of viewing Earth from space— and shift our focus to creating a more inclusive home planet.
More than ever before, individuals in the space industry are speaking out against racism. Recently, former astronaut Leland Melvin shared how as a teen he found himself in a situation, based on the color of his skin, that could have changed the course of his future and held him back from ever being the prominent space industry figure that he is today. The same way a successful space mission requires all members of a crew to work together and rely on one another, Melvin’s desire is for, “life off-planet to be a model that we adopt and bring back down here [to Earth]. Because we get over our differences in space so that we don’t all die. That’s the power of working on a team in a critical environment. Our Earth is a critical environment too.”
There are so many opportunities in the world to embrace technology as a way to transform old ways of thinking, from unconscious bias to blatant bigotry, and to make Melvin’s hope a reality. Your challenge is to create a tool, app, or resource that utilizes space agency data to help close a gap that causes people to experience inequality. This combination of humanity and technology should eliminate or lessen a systemic issue and educate the user so they can grow.
Potential Considerations:
- Choosing a topic
- You may tell a big-picture story, or focus on one event, person, technology, mission, etc.
- You may choose to provide a new interpretation of a well-known topic or showcase a lesser-known topic.
- You might highlight successes while also exploring challenges, failures, and setbacks experienced along the way.
- You may consider NASA’s collaborations with other space agencies or partners, especially in your home country.
- Developing digital tools
- The project may be interactive and immersive.
- You may incorporate text, images, video, and sound.
- Remember that to be eligible for global judging by our panel of Space Apps experts, your solution to the challenge must contain or reference space agency data in some way. Here’s where your creativity will really have a chance to shine!
For data and resources related to this challenge, refer to the Resources tab at the top of the page.
NASA does not endorse any non-U.S. Government entity and is not responsible for information contained on non-U.S. Government websites.