We’re honored to be working with NASA, Second Muse, and other lovely organizations to make the Space Apps Challenge happen this April! You can find out more on their site, but here are some problem definitions to get your brain juices flowing.

1. Interplanetary IT Simulator
Develop a way to simulate the user experience of common IT services (phone, email, video conferencing, IRC chat, web browsing, etc) while en route to an interplanetary destination, focusing on the time delay experienced during the trip. Such a tool could help analog mission participants more realistically engage in their mission scenario, and also apply to new and innovative ways to deal with connectivity issues of computing devices in remote areas on Earth.

2. Astronaut Status Platform
Utilize rad hardened mobile device to hold a variety of Astronaut Exploration Computation tools on a collective platform. To develop and port these applications to the mobile hardware device of choice for use in field exploration of extra-terrestrial surfaces, on-orbit operations, and potential spin-off terrestrial use with modifications. The proposed applications included in the Astronaut Status Platform are: 1) Emergency Path Planner, automatic real time safest path to target mapping tool, this has work done already. This app will plot a path from the user’s current location to any choice area, typically envisioned as home base, in case of emergency situations or just wanting to go the shortest effort path to the target. Can be integrated with rover control system wirelessly for automatic return-to-base or alternatively walked. http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/6107243900_df07b7cd0a.jpg 2) Rendezvous Tracker, an ephemeris tracking/timing application, this app will give up to the second locations of the space station, various satellites, earth, moon, etc and calculate relative distances from each other and communication nulls. 3) Assisted Technology Enhanced Notetaking/Logging practical for use with limited mobility enviro-suits, this app allows the explorer to enter time logged notes and pictures simply in the presence of challenging environmental conditions where the user has limited mobility either due to incapacitation or restrictive equipment/enviro-suits or both. This would also have a ‘mayday’ button that would automatically perform several emergency notification procedures, sending out location and help message every few seconds. 4) Space & Terrestrial Weather updates and alerts, including gamma/sunspot burst notice, sun terminator proximity, etc. 5) Realtime Environment Map. This app would be the front end of the platform and is a gps receiver/repeater with full topographic and thermographic maps as well as mission specific or user designated avoid/explore areas. The map can have user designated areas of interest and the thermographic map is updated every few minutes and also has local sensor display. This can integrate with the other apps dynamically. The apps are all meant to work together and function essentially as one unified app, with simplicity of use and clarity of display of extreme importance. This set of apps is a prime candidate for modification into terrestrial applicability, for emergency crews, oil field workers, scouts, campers, etc.

3. Visualize the “All-too-Common Astronomy/Solar System Misconceptions”
Help us debunk the top misconceptions about Astronomy/Solar System Science through a creative visualization. Help us debunk the top misconceptions about Astronomy/Solar System Science through a creative visualization, using the following: (the first 20 of 75 ‘misperceptions’ about the solar system)
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1. The Sun is not a star. Extra 1: Planet orbits are highly elliptical
2. The Sun disappears at night. Extra 2: Planetary “alignments” are important
3. The Sun will never burn out. Extra 3: The Universe / Solar System is young
4. The surface of the Sun is without visible features.
5. The Sun rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west every day. [Some duplicate entries were removed]
6. The Sun is always directly south at 12:00 noon.
7. The tip of a shadow always moves along an east-west line.
8. The amount of daylight increases each day of summer.
9. We experience seasons because of Earth’s changing distance from the Sun–––closer in summer, farther in winter.
10. The Earth is the largest object in the solar system . It is larger than the Sun.
11. The Earth is the center of the solar system. The planets, Sun and Moon revolve around the Earth.
12. The Earth is sitting on something.
13. The Earth is round like a pancake.
14. We live on the flat middle of a sphere.
15. The Moon can only be seen during the night.
16. The Moon does not rotate on its axis as it revolves around the Earth.
17. The phases of the Moon are caused by shadows cast on its surface by other objects in the solar system.
18. The phases of the Moon are caused by the shadow of the Earth on the Moon.
19. The phases of the Moon are caused by the Moon moving into the Sun’s shadow.
20. Different countries see different phases of the Moon on the same day….

4. Online/Offline Problem
Extend an existing HTML5 hack that would allow communication when connection is unavailable. How to give voice when technology is unavailable is a huge quandary. There were a few hacks that worked with existing solutions testing to Ushahidi. The Reflab team with Francesco Ciriaci leading the charge built an HTML5 hack for reporting Offline/Online. This hack is something that Ushahidi would like to see continue. During RHoK, the DRC map was unable to receive SMS reports due to connection issues. We will be connecting with the various hackers and groups involved during the weekend on this to see how to move it forward, including Geeks without Bounds, Reflab, Mozilla, Tropo and more. The RHok Zurich team worked on Message Carrier (another offline/online communication tool). The code is listed on github.

5. Map for Making Change
Build an interactive map of people, places, and things that are out there making the world a better place. A gorgeous, interactive planetary rolodex of connectors and changers — people, places, things that help make Fragile Oasis a better place. Perhaps start with project data from Fragile Oasis, and potential partners One, WKWDYW, Acumen Fund.

6. 21st Century “Golden Record” for the Voyager Spacecrafts
Redesign the Voyager Golden Record to reflect what would have been encapsulated on it, had Voyager 1 and 2 launched in 2012.

7. Preliminary Design of a open data API
NASA has thousands of publicly available datasets, ranging from deep-space radiation readings to geospatial imaging of the earth’s surface. While an API exists at data.nasa.gov to read metadata of these datasets, there is no standard way to access the data itself.

8. Application Programming Interface (API) with examples for ISSLive and ISSLive Mobile Operations View
Help create a REST based API that ties the existing 200 Telemetry values (space station system parameters) for web based access by other developers) See (http://spacestationlive.jsc.nasa.gov/resources/spaceStationData.html) as well as XML crew timeline data (what the astronauts do onboard the station) so that it is easily usable for outside of NASA developers. In addition to the API itself, students would build and document a small, easy to create sample app that utilizes this API and present a step by step tutorial on how it was built. Build a simple mobile app that takes some of the ISSLive values and presents in them in straightforward operational perspective for use by NASA and science personal –the app would tie into existing ISSLive data and utilize mobile app web based development frameworks such as Sencha Touch or PhoneGap to work on latest devices.