Discovering Science Connections

Background

There are five science divisions in NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD): Earth Science, Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Planetary Science, and Biological and Physical Sciences. At first glance, it looks like these divisions study completely different things—such as searching for distant galaxies and growing veggies on the International Space Station. However, when you look closer, there are many connections. For example, NASA studies the water cycle on Earth, the Hubble Telescope found water molecules in a distant nebula, and astronauts train for spacewalks in huge swimming pools. Does understanding life on Earth facilitate our search for life elsewhere? Some connections are obvious, but others could be more subtle. Science in one domain may inform discoveries in other disciplines; alternatively, scientists might use the same methods or technologies to make discoveries in different fields. Just like science discoveries come from new ways of looking at things around us, we are hoping that you will bring a new perspective to the way we look at NASA science and how it is all connected.

Objectives

Your challenge is to find the connections between the diverse NASA science disciplines (e.g., Earth science, Planetary science, Astrophysics, etc.) and communicate those linkages in an innovative and interesting way to new and diverse audiences. Your product could include new platforms, new audiences, or simply stories told in a new way. The connections could be literal or unstructured. Science is based on provable facts, but it requires imagination to wonder "what if?".

As we evaluate your project, we will be looking for:

• New connections between the NASA science disciplines.
• New ways to tell stories relating a variety of space science disciplines, either on a new platform or in a new voice.
• Stories told in ways that resonate with new audiences.

Make sure to stick to the facts when talking about the science. In addition, please make sure to tell us why the connection you are highlighting resonates with your team.

Potential Considerations

When developing your project, you may (but are not required to) consider the following:

• You can go outside the SMD "bubble" to find connections to other NASA science efforts (aeronautics, for example) but make sure there's a connection back to at least one of the NASA science disciplines.
• Have some fun with it! This is a creative challenge as well as a scientific one.
• Think about ways your project might make someone look at NASA science in a new light or might inspire someone to become a scientist, engineer, or communicator in this field.

For data and resources related to this challenge, refer to the Resources tab at the top of the page. More resources may be added before the hackathon begins.

NASA does not endorse any non-U.S. Government entity and is not responsible for information contained on non-U.S. Government websites.