Light Years Away

Fujairah | On the Way to the Sun

Light Years Away

High-Level Project Summary

The aim of our project is to create a design for an application made specifically for children whereby they will get additional information regarding the Parker Probe’s journey to the sun. We wanted to achieve this in a creative way, which is sustainable in the long term. We did not just want to create an app solely for the journey to the Sun but wanted to also incorporate other famous discoveries and stories. To make this amusing for the children, we incorporated several characters which would take forms of astronauts, and other fictional players. We plan to achieve this goal by making an introduction video, app designs, and making a script that would represent the backbone of our app.

Link to Final Project

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14BiyFJCqWFX8gitifD-9Wlx6w4S5r-fWpAPa5aoznbE/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Project "Demo"

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1_3ArK5jVId8tOx8UYnYeN9uY7hivNNFU9EVgy6dtDuM/edit?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

Our app is an interactive one with gripping storylines and out of the world visuals and characters that engage and nurture the younger generations' interest in our universe.

We wrote the scripts for the journey from Earth to the Corona near the Sun, teaching the kids about Venus and Mercury on the way. This helps children learn about each of these monuments and mainly about the journey the Parker Solar Probe experienced on its way to the Sun. We do not go into the detailed physics of the workings, as it is for children and we do not want to overcomplicate any of the information because it may bore them.

Our game will not be ordinary, as it will serve as a story-based game. The story will be focused on the solar probe and the perils that it overcame on the way to achieve success in reaching within the Sun’s corona. There will be several levels in the game, and the player / student will be tested through a fun quiz at the end of each mission. During the mission, the student will be provided with various information regarding journey to the sun and how it did this without melting. The player will then use this knowledge to answer the questions that will follow in the quick. The purpose of this app is to provide a first-person gaming experience, thereby, students can both use it as a source of entertainment, and at the same time, develop interest with learning more about space exploration.

Introduction video

We have made an introduction video to grasp the attention of the children, and make them attracted toward our game. The intro video includes the general theme of our app, and the intense background music gives the viewer a feel of how the in-game experience will feel like.

App designs

Due to the constraints of time and resources, it would not be possible for us to make our own game, but we have made wireframes for the several different sections within the app. In total, we have made 8 designs, which ranges from the start screen to the end of level page. We have also made annotations to make it clear what we are trying to achieve with the particular section in the app. Further information regarding the designs is given in the link to the project.

The script

The script is our main way of communicating information to the children. we had to make sure to add equal levels of humor and knowledge, so as to not make it boring for them. As kids are known for having short attention spans, we always make some sort of event or conversation that grips them in the story. we added a character named “SpaceBOT” who would act as an “information button”, making the whole experience more interactive. The kids could click on it and learn more about different planets, the sun, the Parker Solar Probe amongst other things. We broke down major events in plot to different cutscenes. The journey from Earth to the Sun includes 9 cutscenes as children learn about Venus, Mercury, the Sun and more specifically the Corona and Parker Solar Probe in greater detail.

Eye-catching characters

We thought adding characters would make the whole setting more “story-like” and thus memorable for the children. It would also be a fun way to have kids their age to see others enjoy the journey. we made sure to add kids of all ethnicities (Indian, African American, Caucasian, Chinese and Arab) so kids from all over the world could see someone from their ethnicity also part of the exploration of space. In our opinion, the kids are the next generation and it is upon them to partake in space explorations. and for that, it is better to develop their interests from a younger age. Using our app, children all over the world would learn about our wonderful world beyond Earth and increase the opportunities for the space exploration industry.

The challenge asked us to teach kids about NASA’s Parker Solar Probe exploring the Sun closer than any other probe ever had. As technology is prevalent in the lives of all children these days, we thought it would be beneficial to have them learn about things that shape not only their, but future generations as well. Technology can be used to spread knowledge about NASA’s discoveries all over the world and to some of the people that matter most, like children. Our mission is to help spread it. As we were children once, we thought about aspects that we would have liked to see in an app.

Endorsing space exploration would help the younger generation understand the importance of preserving our Earth. Global warming is a major problem that will affect them the most, so seeing the beauty of Earth could help them want to be more sustainable, more eager to be the change the world desperately needs right now. And we want to help be a part of that. With Light Years Away, we want to show them to them the beauty of right here, right away.

The app starts with an open page where the kids can first watch an introduction video that tells them how the universe first came to be; the Big Bang. This would give them a background as a wise person once said “to know your future you must know your past”. We believe it is important for them to experience the whole timeline through this app so they can see how NASA, and humans as a species, has come.

The kids will then be set inside a spaceship, called “The Icarus”, inspired by the famous, and tragic, Greek myth of Icarus flying to the Sun, as the kids will be in the simulation-like journey. They will be there with 6 other characters, 5 of whom are children like them and will be making the journey a lot more interactive and enjoyable with them. One is a special one, named “SpaceBOT”, who will be there as a button that will be introduced when the spaceship passes by an important monument (like Venus, Mercury, the Probe and the Corona/Sun). The kids can click on him and information about the specific monument will be displayed. This not only makes it more interactive as they have to physically press a button, but it also feeds them the information in a fun way as the script is designed in a way that the characters will urge the kids to press SpaceBOT and learn. All of the information is simplified to make it easier for the kids to intake and truly understand what is being taught to them.

The designs and script that we designed are specific to the journey from Earth to the Sun. However, our app has potential to expand into other parts of space as well. This can include any amount of information from Jupiter’s moons to the Nebula as we can really help take kids on a journey around the amount of space that NASA, amongst other space agencies, have helped discover over the years. These can be introduced in the form of levels that the kids can go through an unlock. This adds a challenge and reinforcement of the testing of the knowledge gained into the app. After each exploration (like from Earth to Sun) the kids will have a quiz that they go through which asks questions on the information shared during the exploration. Another way we will reinforce and test the kids is by mini-missions during the exploration. For example, during the mission, Icarus is passing through a meteor shower and the spaceship has to dodge all the meteors. To dodge each meteor successfully, the kids need to answer a question correctly. They have multiple attempts and the spaceship won’t crash with every wrong answer, however, after a few incorrect answers in a row the children will need to retake the exploration. This helps make it an education-emphasized game.

We hope to achieve a generation of children that truly understand the development of mankind and how hard astronauts have worked to explore space, the challenges they’ve faced and continue to overcome. We want to fill their minds and hearts with the passion of people that work towards the better of us as a species. And we wish to do it in a fun way.

We used a variety of websites like Renderforest and Mockflow (both linked in the references section below) to help create the introduction video and app designs. We are high school students and did not have the skill set or time to learn to and properly code an app. However, we are eager to learn and make a change and with a platform we can do just that.

Space Agency Data

The majority of the data that was needed was to make the script. All the resources used were from NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/nasa-enters-the-solar-atmosphere-for-the-first-time-bringing-new-discoveries )( as they were the ones that gave the most specific and accurate set of data available on the internet. We thought it would be most beneficial to use it as kids should not be taught wrong things as it is harder to change in the future. We also used YouTube videos about the Parker Solar Probe’s journey and the science behind how it kept itself cool and avoided melting even after being so close to the Sun, in the Corona (https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sun-corona/en/ ). We summarized all this knowledge and simplified it to make the script that served as the main source of information for the children as the rest of the aspects (including app designs, visuals etc.) are to grip their attention more than anything. In terms of the app designs, we used the “basic facts about the sun” link as it had a simulation which hovered over various planets. It really gave us inspiration whilst making our wireframe designs, and this allowed us to make the designs which are in line with the standards of NASA, as well as contain all the information as well. For designing, we did not include the actual information from NASA’s website, but used its layout to come up with fun ways of playing a game such as having a quiz after each mission finishes.

(More sources were used which are referenced in the references section)

Hackathon Journey

How would you describe your Space Apps experience? What did you learn? What inspired your team to choose this challenge? What was your approach to developing this project? How did your team resolve setbacks and challenges? Is there anyone you'd like to thank and why?

This was the first time any of us ever participated in a Space Apps challenge or a Hackathon in general. As we are IB students, it was hard to manage our time after school to all come on call and produce something that we could all agree on and be proud of. We all learnt a lot about the actual mission the Parker Solar Probe as many of us had not even heard of it before hearing about it in this challenge. It intrigued us so much, we decided to pick this challenge. We were truly curious to learn about how NASA managed to create a probe that could withstand the high temperatures of the Corona.

Our main approach to developing this product was to find an exciting way to teach kids about this mission, to bring about the same excitement and curiosity that was lit in us when we first heard about it. One of the biggest challenges we faced was to manage our time and work on the project together. With homework and heavy workload, we had a lot to do after school and generally had to work during nights and free periods on this, which tired us out but we realized the importance and passion we had towards this app, so we did our best and came up with something we were proud of. We all had different schedules that clashed most of the time, so finding a time that everyone could meet and talk to each other was one of the biggest problems. We are all also very different people, and all had opinions on how to approach this challenge. This resulted in a lot of clashing of ideas as some agreed and others disagreed. We came to a consensus eventually and collaborated to create this app in the end. We also had to avoid miscommunication and ended up spending a lot of time explaining our ideas to each other and agreeing on one that satisfied everyone.

However, despite the challenges, I think we owe each other a huge Thank You for persevering through all the challenges that we faced and being what everyone needed in the end; a team. We fought a lot but also motivated each other to complete all the work. We had differing opinions but listening to each other helped us come up with better ideas to improve the app and give it all the potential we have. We were all children not long ago and what kept us going was the thought of how big of an effect an app like this would have had on our childhood and our dreams. The majority of us have an intense love for physics and mathematics and all of us have some for astrophysics in particular. The universe will continue to be something that will always need more research, more exploring, more enthusiasts that will help keep up the love and curiosity needed to go beyond, to go Light Years Away, for many more years to come.