High-Level Project Summary
On the way to the sun is an interactive platform focusing on the younger generation(7 to 12 years). It aims at making children more curious about space exploration. It shows the various difficulties faced by the Parker Solar Probe on its journey from the Earth to the Sun's upper atmosphere called Corona. These difficulties include solar wind, high temperature and heat. The platform also shows various aspects like maintaining the correct trajectory and the need for high energy for the launch of the probe. Players will have a narrative session along with interactive sessions in the form of games. On the way to the Sun will act as a platform for budding scientists to expand their knowledge.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
This is the journey of the Parker Solar probe from the Earth to the Sun.
To enter the trajectory it requires high energy, so the probe was launched on a Delta IV Heavy Class launch vehicle. This is shown with a warm up game at the beginning of the session.
Once the game is completed, the original launch video is played.Then we enter into the real part of the game which shows the difficulties faced by the solar probe on its way to the Sun. This is shown through different levels consisting of narratives and interactive games.
1) We include a video showing how the interaction with Venus helps the probe to move closer to the Sun’s upper atmosphere.
2) Next level shows the interaction of the probe with solar wind.The magnetic storms triggered by the solar winds can cause damage to the probe.
It is shown through a game where the probe has to avoid the particles on its path.
3)As the probe moves closer to the upper atmosphere of the Sun, temperature and radiation becomes stronger.The probe is able to withstand these harsh conditions with the help of a special heat shield called thermal protection system. It contains 4.5 inches of Carbon foam sandwiched between two sheets of carbon. It absorbs and deflect solar energy. It also has a coating of white ceramic paint.
In the game, this is depicted by the hexagonal shaped shield blocking the Sun rays in its path.
The game ends with 42.73 miles from the sun leaving scope for further exploration.
TOOLS, CODING LANGUAGES AND SOFTWARE USED
We developed the final project through Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. The games were developed through the software Scratch.
Adobe illustrator, Vita and Canva were some of the other software used.
Space Agency Data
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/traveling-to-the-sun-why-won-t-parker-solar-probe-melt
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2021/12/14/solar-tour-pit-stop-12-at-the-sun/
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2021/12/11/solar-tour-pit-stop-9-the-solar-wind/
https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2021/12/10/solar-tour-pit-stop-8-venus/
Hackathon Journey
We had a wonderful time competing in the Space Apps Challenge. It was during our brainstorming session here that we came up with the idea of developing an interactive platform catering to the younger audience. We were only aware about the basic concepts of game development, but during our 48 hours in the hackathon we were able to discover more about the technical aspects of the same. The resources provided by NASA were extremely helpful to understand in detail about the various aspects of the journey of the Parker Solar Probe.
Our main goal was to make the younger generation more curious about space exploration. In the end we were all extremely satisfied regardless of the hardships as we were able to create such a great platform in a short span of time. We would like to thank our host college, Jain School of Sciences, for providing mentoring throughout the session.
Tags
#space #exploration #solarprobe #enjoy #funtastic