Solar Seekers - Space Apps Challenge

Solar Seekers| Mission to Planet Earth: A Digital History

Mission to Planet Earth: A Digital History

NASA’s activities in space have brought new knowledge of the Earth, inspiring new ways of thinking about humanity and the planet. However, many people aren’t aware that NASA studies the Earth in addition to other planets. Your challenge is to tell stories of NASA’s Earth science enterprise using interactive digital tools. This will test your technical skills and your ability to think like a historian or educator.

Mission Gaia

Summary

“Mission Gaia” is an app made to educate young audiences on space and earth history through the power of storytelling. It takes the form of a tale of a young astronaut in the future stuck somewhere in our solar system. He listens to records concerning historical events that aid him in taking control of his craft during his journey. The app is supported with NASA audios as well as riddles and questions in between narrations of historical events that test the knowledge the player gained while using the app; for example, in order to proceed between chapters of history players must choose a correct password from those offered to them in order to advance to the following chapters.

How We Addressed This Challenge

Our project aims to spread space and earth history through the youth who are interested in aeronautics and astronomy. It is vital to strengthen youngsters' interests in what they love and solidify their passion for at an early age, however, most methods that do so take a very traditional and tedious route. Looking through our past and looking through history is the way we gain insight into previous solutions to current problems as well as learn from our predecessors’ mistakes. For these reasons, there was a definite need to make available a way that educates and entertains at the same time, ensuring the engagement and interaction of the users as well as them continuously developing their passions and gaining knowledge while using the app.

How We Developed This Project

The project came out of combined love for history, astronomy, and education. The app would be constructed using Android Studio with Kotlin to provide a neat experience for young users. The interface would be constructed in a simple and minimal manner to provide extra focus on the material itself being discussed, with support from NASA audio as well as other minimal visuals

How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project

We used NASA historical resources and recounts of important past missions and events from the official NASA website as well as audio and visuals from NASA archives.