High-Level Project Summary
The Alkha Space team developed an interactive game in which children can learn about biology and space science in a more fun and engaging way, accompanying astronaut Alex on her mission to the Moon and helping her to overcome the adversities along the way. How can they help her? Very simple! All they have to do is choose which living being, among two others, gives Alex special characteristics to overcome the problem. The game has an eye-catching interface for children so that it is easier for them to fix their knowledge.We believe that it is important that children are interested in these topics because "The curiosity of today's child can end up in the solution of tomorrow's problem".
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Who are we?
We are the Alkha Space team, an interdisciplinary group of students and graduates from the areas of Engineering, Science and Art.
What challenge did we choose? Why?
We chose the challenge "Build a space biology superhero", which consists of divulging the adversities of space travel and the existence of organisms capable of facing them. This choice is due to the fact that it is important for us to awaken the interest of future generations in the area of science and space.
Therefore, we seek to focus the project to an audience between 8 and 13 years old, being this a tool to be used in the educational field (Natural Sciences area) and strategic points of scientific dissemination such as planetariums or museums specializing in biology.
What do we want to achieve?
Our goal is to bring the information provided by NASA on these disciplines to school children in a more dynamic, enjoyable and simple way, since we believe that currently most of them do not know these topics, do not know how to access them or how to interpret the data they provide.
Project
To solve this problem we developed the game "Alkha Space: Aventura en el espacio".
The game will be available online to be accessed from any device with internet connection, as well as in embedded systems located in the strategic points mentioned above so that all children have the possibility of playing it.
"The curiosity of today's child can end up in the solution of tomorrow's problem"
Initially, the game explains to the children that Alex is going to start a mission to the moon in which adversities may arise, so he needs help. For this, the players will have three lives and they will have to choose characteristics of different organisms that will give Alex an advantage in the face of this adversity.
First adversity: Microgravity
It is explained to the child in a simple way how microgravity affects astronauts.
Once the challenge is presented, three cards appear with characteristics of different living beings that may or may not help to overcome this problem. Only one of the answers is correct.
If the child answers correctly, a characteristic of the chosen living being will be added to the astronaut, and a brief and simple explanation will be given as to why it is the correct answer.
In case of a negative answer, an explanation is given and the child is encouraged to keep trying since he/she has three lives in the game.
The game continues with the same dynamic in two more levels:
Second adversity: Oxygen depletion (In the ship)
Third adversity: Radiation (On the moon)
Finally, if the child chooses the three correct answers (mouse, plant and water bear) Alex will be able to reach Earth and successfully complete his mission to the moon.
The complete set of game templates can be found in the section "Team Board"
To see the demo of the game go to this link
To see the final draft of the game go to this link (Beta Version)
Technology used
For the design we use Illustrator and for the development we use the Visual Studio code editor, the C# programming language and the multiplatform Unity videogame engine . The complete set of game templates can be found in the section
For Smartphones, the analog functions will be transformed to digital and the interface will be adapted to these types of devices.
On the other hand, for the development of the hardware and software of the embedded system, a Raspberry development board will be used to which the necessary peripherals for the interaction and visualization of the game will be incorporated.
Goals and objectives for the future
Scalability of the game: Add new levels to the base game and launch expansions with missions to other places in space with greater adversities. This would allow to expand the age range of playability.
Insert a section in the game where players can access more information if they wish.
Adapt the game to favor accessibility at different levels such as adding a voice-over to narrate the text blocks.
Space Agency Data
We use this type of information to understand what are the different adversities that humans face in their space missions. We then searched papers, podcasts, repositories and scientific databases for research on which organisms have the characteristics to face these adversities.
Once this data was collected, we used it to build the story and correct options to solve the game. For the incorrect options we draw on this information, choosing organisms that do not possess these favorable characteristics (of which some actually participated in space missions).
Hackathon Journey
First of all, we liked being able to participate in a NASA event from a place close to our homes, the possibility of being able to contribute in some way to science, the fellowship among us and with members of other groups, the attention of the coordinators, talking with others about topics that we like in common and the artistic spaces within the event.
We learned how to organize group tasks, acquired knowledge in areas that are not the ones we usually see on a daily basis, how to manage time and skills to solve the challenge in a timely manner, how to deal with distractions, problems and other issues that could have slowed down the resolution of the challenge, and how to listen to and take advantage of the tutors' advice.
This choice is due to the fact that it is important for us to awaken the interest of future generations in the area of science and space. Our goal is to bring the information provided by NASA on these disciplines to school children in a more dynamic, enjoyable and simple way, since we believe that currently most of them do not know these topics, do not know how to access them or how to interpret the data they provide.
We orient the project to an educational environment (middle schools, science outreach centers, home learning).
The interdisciplinary nature of our team helped us to address the challenge in a more organized, quicker and more varied way, since we divided the tasks by areas to be developed and each one contributed their particular point of view to the global resolution.
We would especially like to thank the organizers of the La Plata event and the tutors who made these 48 marathon hours more enjoyable.
References
- Afshinnekoo et al. 2020. Fundamental Biological Features of Spaceflight: Advancing the Field to Enable Deep-Space Exploration
- Human Research Roadmap. Consulted on 10/1/2022
- Ronca et al. 2019. Behavior of mice aboard the International Space Station.
- Water Bears in Space Consulted on 10/1/2022
- Zond 5 Consulted on 10/1/2022
- Soga et al. 2002. Stimulation of elongation growth and xyloglucan breakdown in Arabidopsis hypocoyls under microgravity conditions in space.
- Base vectors for the game