NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2024

I was scheduled to be out of town, but when my plans changed, I offered to volunteer at the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2024 that took place in person at the NASA Glenn Research Center and also had an online option. I attended the first day (Saturday, October 5, 2024) of this two-day event. I knew it would be a great event, since I had attended in 2019, and wrote the following blog post: NASA Hackathon! Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2019!

I decided to put together this blog post to recognize the real heroes who made it possible for the participants to take part in this 2024 NASA weekend event -- the organizers, mentors, judges, and sponsors.

The local lead who sent me the details I needed to attend was Martina Dimoska (thank you, Martina!). She attended the event virtually. The onsite people I met included organizers Adriann Guy, David Barnes, Herb Schilling, and Calvin. I also talked extensively during the event with Space App Challenge Cleveland Judge Bob Stopko (who I have known for years), and Space App Challenge Cleveland sponsor Isaiah Jackson (who I met at the event and is the CEO of Golden Age). In Cleveland, the event is fortunate to have a good number of sponsors (see list of Partners above).

In this blog post, I will list the teams, share my photos/videos from the event, and encourage you to learn more so you can help spread the word to more people about this great annual NASA weekend hackathon! (Note that all the YouTube videos and my videos are best viewed in full screen mode.)

 

 

21 Cleveland Teams and Resources for Team Members

Here are images showing the team names and team challenges, followed by links to some of the resources provided to the teams. Please visit the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2024 Team web page where you can click on each of the team names to read about the teams and follow links to even more project details.

https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/nasa-space-apps-2024/2024-local-even…

Enlarge Images
           

 

Here are links to some of the resources that the teams had available to use over the hackathon weekend:

• Resources - Resources and Participant Guides will be updated periodically leading up to the 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge. All resources will be updated by September 23, 2024.

• Space App Connect Guide - Space Apps Connect serves as the collaborative communication forum for the NASA Space Apps Challenge community.

• Participant FAQ

• Team Formation Guide

• Project Submission Guide

• https://github.com/nasa/spaceapps

• NASAspaceAppsCLEmv.slack.com

• Cleveland Local Event Schedule and Livestream Details

• Social Media:
  Instagram: https://instagram.com/nasa_spaceapps
  X: https://x.com/spaceapps
  Facebook: https://facebook.com/spaceappschallenge
  Cleveland Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NASASpaceAppsCleveland

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NASASpaceAppsChallenge

 

 

Welcome!

Thank you to the leaders and sponsors of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2024!

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

 

Glenn Band

The NASA Glenn Research Center Band provided the lunchtime entertainment on day one. I talked to one of the band members after their concert, and he said that if I knew any people who played band instruments, I should tell them that the NASA band is open to community members.

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

 

 

Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory (SLOPE) Lab

The SLOPE Lab is a unique indoor laboratory designed to mimic lunar and planetary surface operations. The lab contains several large soil bins for rover testing, including an adjustable tilt-bed, as well as equipment for evaluating the performance of tires, excavation tools and other vehicle components. Research here helps NASA develop the tools and technologies needed to allow rovers to traverse long distances and explore the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. Click on the arrows or any of the icons to learn more about how we research planetary mobility.

Herb Schilling arranged for Phil Abel, Manager of the Tribology & Mechanical Components Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center, to take the attendees of the NASA Space Apps Challenge Cleveland on a tour of the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Simulated Lunar Operations (SLOPE) Lab. In a thank-you email I sent to the leadership of the hackathon, I wrote the following:

Herb, thank you again for the SLOPE Lab tour ... I will never stop getting excited by visiting NASA Glenn Research Center.

I have been extremely fortunate to have been on several tours of NASA Glenn Research Center that included the SLOPE Lab. I recommend that you watch for announcements of future public tours (I don't see any listed currently), and know the NASA Glenn policies regarding visitors. You should also go to the NASA Glenn Visitor Center that is within the Great Lakes Science Center.

Online, you can also see NASA Glenn Virtual Tours, which include an incredible -- this is a must-see -- 360-degree interactive view of the NASA Glenn SLOPE Lab here: https://www3.nasa.gov/specials/slope360/

Also, see the NASA Glenn Research Center Reinventing the Wheel web page, which has great information, photos, and videos that show the history of wheel development at NASA Glenn.

 

My Saturday, October 5, 2024, SLOPE Lab Tour Photos

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

 

Here is detailed information about some of my photos of the SLOPE Lab tour:

I recommend that that you watch the following embedded YouTube videos in full screen mode.

• (Photos 1 & 2) I want to thank both Herb Schilling and Phil Abel for the interesting Simulated Lunar Operations Laboratory (SLOPE) Lab tour on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

• (Photo 9) The first tire that I am holding is a replica of the Lunar Roving Vehicle tire. Yes, I was holding a replica of the tires that are still on the moon! I am excited by this!

  Lunar Roving Vehicle
  Apollo 15 - July 1971, Apollo 16 - Apr. 1972, Apollo 17 - Dec. 1972
  The last NASA vehicle to visit the Moon was the Lunar Roving Vehicle. This manned vehicle used four large flexible wire mesh wheels with stiff inner frames to prevent over-deflection. Thin tread strips were attached to the carcass to enhance flotation in soft lunar soil.

• (Photos 14, 15, 16, 17) The type of tires that Phil Abel and I are holding are spring tires that are designed to be used on Mars. On the tour, Phil Abel told us the mind-blowing story that is shown in the following two videos:

  In one particular moment of serendipity, Engineer Colin Creager and Materials Scientist Santo Padula had a conversation that completely changed the path forward.

  The game changing material that dramatically advanced the development of spring tires was nickel titanium, a shape memory alloy with amazing capabilities as explained by Santo Padula.

• (Photos 13, 18, 19) I first saw the NASA bike tire that Phil Abel showed us at the eclipse celebration at the Great Lakes Science Center. I wrote "Bike tire design - it will never get a flat tire" in my blog post about the NASA Glenn Research Center displays at the Saturday, April 6, 2024, Total Eclipse Fest at the Great Lakes Science Center.
  
  Clicking on image will open blog post.

  Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology (SMART) Tires!

  During the SLOPE Lab tour, Phil Abel told us how a private company was using NASA technology to make bike tires. I found some incredible information on the SMART Tire Company website!! SmartTireCompany.com

  The SMART Tire Company is bringing NASA technology back down to Earth.
  
  Introducing Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology (SMART), a revolutionary new technology for the $300B tire industry. This space-age tire changes the way vehicles perform on and off road, enabling new transportation possibilities around the globe. Originally developed by NASA and now commercialized for terrestrial use by The SMART Tire Company, these superelastic tires are airless, durable and will never go flat. Made from a special advanced material, NiTinol+ (nickel titanium), a shape memory alloy (SMA) that’s elastic like rubber, yet strong like titanium.
  
  This superelastic tire was born out of the extreme challenges NASA faces on Mars, where there are no roads, temperatures can reach -100C and tire performance is mission critical. Today, The SMART Tire Company is Reimagining the Wheel™ again, by bringing this tire technology to new applications here on Earth.

  SMART Tire Company
  Designed for Mars. Ready for Earth.
  Cycling Tires
  
  SMART Tire Selected as one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023
  
  Originally developed and tested by NASA for future Mars Rover missions
  
  ● First ever, space-age METL™ tire made from Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology (SMART), a superelastic material called NiTinol+
  
  ● Smart memory metal that (unlike stretching) rearranges its molecular structure when you bend it, but instantly goes back to its original shape, perfectly
  
  ● Airless, never flat, elastic like rubber yet strong like titanium
  
  . . .
  
  ● The coolest, freakin’ bike tires you’ll ever own, using NASA technology
  
  . . .

• (Photos 20 & 21) Note the cameras!! Very cool! They are recently installed, special cameras that track the movement of items on the SLOPE bed! See the following video that I cued up to where the new OptiTrack motion tracking camera system is described.

  . . . fine-tune a newly [May 7, 2021] installed OptiTrack motion tracking camera system. This extremely accurate set of 16 motion tracking cameras looks for infrared light produced by LEDs inside small white balls, called markers, installed across the lab and on the test vehicles.
  
  This allows engineers to precisely measure real-time movement and compare it to existing computer models to determine if the vehicle is performing as expected. It also creates detailed, 3D animations as a rover travels across the simulated terrain, which are critical to engineering teams during testing and to inform future rover designs.
  
  “The OptiTrack gives us the ability to track large and small vehicles and produce excellent data with a very high level of accuracy, down to around one millimeter,” said Erin Rezich, lead test engineer at the SLOPE Lab. . . .

• (Photos 22, 23, 24) The funniest thing for me was seeing the official Major Matt Mason^® Astronaut Space Crawler in the sand pit of the SLOPE Lab!!! I wonder who put this 1960s toy in the pit?

  See in the next video how the Astronaut Space Crawler moved, and also had a workable winch. It was a very cool toy!

  I remember a close childhood friend of mine had the Major Matt Mason^® "Man-in Space" (white spacesuit) and the Astronaut Space Crawler, while I had Major Matt's space buddy, Astronaut SGT. STORM^® (red spacesuit), and the Uni-Tred and Space Bubble. Major Matt Mason^® toys were made by Mattel.

  While writing this blog post, my son, Mike, saw on Wikipedia that "A 3D film based on the [Major Matt Mason] toy series was announced in 2011, . . . and Tom Hanks set to star. . . . about Major Matt Mason, an astronaut who lives and works on the Moon. . . . On September 7, 2019, Paramount Pictures acquired the film . . . "

  

  Tom Hanks Heading Back To Space As Mattel Action Figure Major Matt Mason
  BY ETHAN ANDERTON SEPT. 9, 2019 8:30 AM EST
  
  Tom Hanks failed to land on the moon in the real life story of Apollo 13 in 1995. But Paramount Pictures will soon have the Oscar winner spend plenty of time on the lunar surface thanks to a new feature film inspired by a classic Mattel action figure. Major Matt Mason is an astronaut action figure who was created in the 1960s when the United States was competing with the Soviet Union in the heated space race to be the first to land on the moon.
  . . .
  For those unfamiliar with Major Matt Mason, he's an astronaut who lives and works on the moon. But we're not looking at an outer space Cast Away scenario, because Matt Mason has a whole space crew on the moon with him, not to mention an assortment of alien allies. But there are also alien villains who threaten their safety on the moon.

 

Here are three more YouTube videos that I found that provide additional interesting information about the SLOPE Lab:

• NASA's Slope Lab Tests Mars and Lunar Rovers for the Artemis Program
  November 20, 2023. Cleveland Magazine.

  A contributor to the Artemis Project, which hopes to establish a permanent presence on the moon, NASA Glenn's Slope Lab features simulated lunar and Mars soil. Here NASA tests rover technology in a controlled environment. Mechanical engineer Colin Creager gives us a tour of the lab in Brook Park, Ohio.

• NASA Glenn: Check out the SLOPE lab with simulated alien surfaces
  March 14, 2019. Cleveland.com.

  NASA Glenn: Check out the SLOPE lab (Simulated Lunar Operations) with simulated alien surfaces where engineers Julie Kleinhenz and Santo Padula explain the research.

• NASA Now: SLOPE
  Key moment at time 2:42 - The Simulated Lunar Operations Facility
  May 19, 2013. NASA Video.

  Welcome to the SLOPE facility at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. In this building, NASA engineers experiment with different wheel designs for lunar rovers. They use a simulated crater to see how each set of wheels might perform on the moon's surface. Watch this program and learn about the unique properties of the moon's soil and how those properties affect the design of future lunar vehicles.

 

 

NASA Glenn Research Center’s GVIS (Graphics and Visualization Lab) Interns

Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS)

. . .
For over 30 years, the Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS) has been providing visualization support to each of the Glenn Research Center’s core competencies. We are a unique lab that develops graphic visualizations from data and models to provide researchers, scientists, engineers and others with a visual tool to develop solutions for their work.

Our team is part of the Scientific Computing and Visualization Team at Glenn which works to unite the worlds of visualization and scientific computing.

The lab is also part of a collection of “Creative Spaces” at Glenn. It is a facility whose doors are always open for NASA employees to stop by and discuss their needs and ideas, and also to experiment with the equipment.
. . .

I was fortunate to attend and write a blog post in 2019 about The 30th Anniversary of the NASA Glenn Graphics & Visualization Lab (GVIS)

GVIS Students
The GVIS Lab hosts several college and high school interns throughout the year, giving motivated students the chance to develop their skills while working on real-world NASA projects. Areas of work include 3D modeling, 2D graphic design, programming, virtual and augmented reality development, communications and more.
. . .
Need to reach us? You can directly send an email to the GVIS Team GRC-DL-GVIS@mail.nasa.gov or the Team Leader, Herb Schilling hschilling@nasa.gov

Unofficial Intern Application Guide
Welcome to the unofficial intern guide for applying to the NASA Glenn GVIS Lab! Here you will find advice and other tips to consider while applying to be a part of the Advanced Computing and Visualization Team, which includes the GVIS Team.

Location: NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH

Focus Areas: AR/VR, 3D Modeling, Data Science, Scientific Computing, Social Media, Technical Writing

Eligibility: Applicants must be either a current student, or a recent graduate
. . .

Herb Schilling is a Computer Scientist at NASA Glenn Research Center, and Team Lead of Scientific Computing and Graphics. I want to thank him for bringing Graphics and Visualization Lab (GVIS) technology for attendees to try, and for letting me know that one of the challenge teams was made up of GVIS interns. Viewing an engine through NASA Glenn GVIS augmented reality goggles was amazing!

My photos that follow have interformation about the GVIS interns' project, and photos of NASA Glenn GVIS augmented reality goggles. To learn more about the GVIS interns' project called "Sunburns," please see their web pages from the challenge event:

• 2024 NASA Space Apps Challenge
  Sunburns
  Hello from the GRC Graphics Visualization Interns! . . . Your task is to design a game that leverages the unique challenges and opportunities of a microgravity environment to entertain and contribute to the overall well-being and cohesion of astronaut crews, enhancing their resilience and adaptability in the extraterrestrial frontier.

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please pause the video to read the details that are in the slides about the GVIS Interns' "Sunburns" project!!

 

 

Thursday, October 17, 2024 - Announcement: NASA Glenn Research Center Interns Won First Place!

On Thursday, October 17, 2024, I had finished the draft of this blog post when, at 7:59 pm, I received a private message from Tom Kunsman with the following image:

Enlarge Image

I was so excited to learn that the GVIS Lab interns had earned this honor.

Enlarge Image

Tom Kunsman then went on to share the announcement on Facebook, tagging Herb Schilling, Robin Pertz-Unger, and me. This Facebook post gave a chance for me and others to share in publicly congratulating the interns. Robin Pertz-Unger is the Library History and Archives Lead at NASA Glenn Research Center. In 2019, Tom Kunsman had arranged for Robin Pertz-Unger to take me on a private tour of the NASA Glenn Library.

Enlarge Images
     

As I have written before, Tom Kunsman is the man to follow on social media, since he often shares interesting facts, particularly about NASA (see my 26 past blog posts mentioning "Tom Kunsman").

NASA Internships
October 16 at 3:30 PM

That's a wrap!

Our annual Space Apps Challenge concluded earlier this month and a team of our very own NASA's Glenn Research Center #NASAInterns won first place.

Well done to all who participated! Learn more about other NASA STEM opportunities: stem.nasa.gov

 

 

Related Blog Posts

We always like to include a list of related blog posts that may be of interest to the readers of this blog post. I have 17 past "NASA" blog posts which I invite you to read, but I want to highlight the following four that relate directly to the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland and to tours of the NASA Glenn Research Center:

• Blog Date: December 8, 2019 - The 30th Anniversary of the NASA Glenn Graphics & Visualization Lab (GVIS)
  "A special thank-you to NASA Glenn Research Center Computer Scientist Herb Schilling for this invitation-only event. Thank you, Tom Kunsman, for arranging an additional private tour of the NASA Glenn Library."

• Blog Date: December 8, 2019 - NASA Hackathon! Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2019! I want to thank the Space Apps Cleveland leaders (Tom Kunsman, Herb Schilling, and Sarah Dutkiewicz) for inviting me to attend. I highly recommend you learn more about the winners on the special Space Apps Cleveland web pages.

• Blog Date: July 18, 2016 - NASA Glenn Research Center 75th Anniversary Open House
  We attended the NASA Glenn Research Center 75th Anniversary Open House at Lewis Field on May 21 and 22, 2016. There was so much to see that the two days just left us wanting to see and learn more.

  My photos on flickr: May 21, 2016 - Day 1: NASA Glenn Research Center Celebrates 75 Years With an Open House
  

  My photos on flickr: May 22, 2016 - Day 2: NASA Glenn Research Center Celebrates 75 Years With an Open House
  

• Blog Date: March 9, 2012 - Cleveland NASA Tweetup
  The VERY FIRST FULL blog post I wrote when I started blogging in 2012 was at the NASA Tweetup that took place at NASA Glenn Research Center and at the Great Lakes Science Center. During the event, I was on NASA TV when I and other Cleveland area bloggers were given the opportunity to ask questions of astronauts who were with us at the event.

  My photos from the event are in the flickr album: March 3, 2012 Cleveland NASA TweetUp
  

 

In addition to the "NASA" tag, I recommend looking at past blog posts with the "Science Center" tag, since the NASA Glenn Visitor Center is located in the Great Lakes Science Center.

 

I want to end this blog post with another thank-you to the leaders of the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Cleveland 2024 and to also express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to again visit the NASA Glenn Research Center.