High-Level Project Summary
We created a mission logging collaboration app named LunarNet. It is an app that creates a community of astronauts, space organizations, and the general public in an effort to further the goals of international space cooperation as well as general public interest in exploring the cosmos. We selected the challenge Lunar Surface Operations because we believed that it best fit our app. In Lunar Space Operations, the goal is to log operations and provide functionality for such logs. Although the original intent is still clear in our app, we wanted to create a community and resource for the public to access and tap into. This is especially important as we enter a new era of space exploration.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
The project fulfills the purpose of logging for public view or private view through the different types/entities of users on the app. We have three types of users - organizations, the public (any random Joe like you and me), and astronauts. Verified organizations like SpaceX, NASA, CSA, and others can invite astronauts to their organization to have the access to create logs. Logs cannot be created by the public but can be viewed by them in an attempt to create a more cohesive environment for those who are interested in space to learn more about what goes on in missions and to view real-time logs of them. Previously, this issue was apparent through an information wall as not much information was transferred between the space agencies and the public. However, this can now be solved through LunarNet, as we allow these agencies to create these logs and show what they are working on, which also improves transparency. We hope that space exploration and missions do not stay a secretive and private topic but rather public discussion should be encouraged on these topics to yield the best results for all of us. The mobile client for LunarNet was built in React Native and thus is cross-platform between iOS and Android devices. The backend was built in express and node.js and deployed to Firebase Functions. Our data lake was Google Cloud Storage, our authentication was Firebase, and our database was FaunaDB. We also used DaVinci Resolve to edit our videos.
Space Agency Data
We used historic NASA space mission data in order to create an archive of logs for the public to view. Many of these events and missions have been extremely important although the majority have been forgotten by the general public to an extent. In order to create an environment that encourages space exploration, the logs of historic flights must also be included to make the public more aware of the impact of these missions. We uploaded some of these logs as mission logs in our collection, and it made us realize that we could do more with this challenge. Instead of just a simple logging task, the app became something more after realizing the importance of these logs - we could truly create a community as well. This is an innovative twist on the challenge, and we believe that it is a necessary one that speaks to our beliefs.
Hackathon Journey
SpaceApps has given us an incredible weekend. We learned to collaborate and communicate in the team and convey both criticism and appreciation to each other. We delegated tasks to different groups members - Some worked on design, others frontend and backend, and others even video editing. It was a truly wonderful experience working with everyone and we grew as both programmers and conscientious citizens of what space is about - collaboration and exploration. This challenge was also especially meaningful for us. We originally looked at it as a way to improve our technical skills. Yet, we soon realized that it taught us that even ideas that seem like they have less room for creativity often have a lot of different paths to follow, and we believe we exemplified that. Sometimes, our code wouldn't work. Yet, we didn't stress it. We regrouped and decided whether we should keep features or make these limitations guardrails for our own design and functionality. We kept open communication lines and kept it orderly, even though sometimes the project looked like it was falling apart. We would like to thank NASA and CSA for the wonderful opportunity to grow not only as programmers but also thinkers.
References
We used NASA images and NASA image APIs in order to generate the sample data used in our platform's logs. In addition, we used archives and previous mission data in order to aid us in the development of our dataset. Furthermore, we used tools such as FaunaDB for our database, Google Cloud Storage for our file/image storage, and Firebase for our authentication/API hosting. We used DaVinci Resolve for video editing.
Tags
#app,#mobileapp,#moon,#platform,#communication
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.