High-Level Project Summary
The project is a child-centered educational and interactive game where the user gets to explore the various biological risks missions to space pose and the diverse organisms' biological capabilities that can withstand such hazards in space so as to build a better understanding of how spaceflight affects living systems in spacecraft. The main objective of the game is to spread awareness among the younger generation and to feed their curiosity about space through quizzes, community support, multi-player challenges, real-life depictions, characters, and more. In the end, the child gets to build a biological indestructible superhero that can survive long missions to Mars!
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
The game is a story-based interactive journey that focuses on children aged 8-15 to provide them with educational content in an engaging manner. The game constitutes many levels through which the child can explore the concept of gravity on his own and leave the earth's atmosphere to see the biological effects of weightlessness on the human body, visit a laboratory and see real microscopic images of organisms of interest in space biology, view an interactive comparison of the diverse organisms and take quizzes to test his knowledge, and finally build a superhero with which he/she can safely explore space. Additional features of the game include challenges on actual real-life space-related events, connecting to like-minded space enthusiasts and engaging in multip-player competitions, and a forum where players can express their innovative ideas regarding space missions and biological hazards. The game is built using a 2D cross-platform open source game engine, so it's accessible through smartphones and PCs. Our vision is to have a well-educated younger generation with an outlet where they can express their space-related interests and engage in an exploration-based game.
Space Agency Data
We used:
Nasa resources
Canadian space agency (CSA)
We used these resources to know the features we can add to our game and how can we make it realistic as much as we can. These sites helped to get our information, articles and etc.
NASA resources (5 hazards ) in making articles of radiation, and quizzes.
NASA Genelab (profile of organism for radiation and article about an organism).
Canadian space agency ( how the space stresses affect the human body)
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/5-hazards-of-human-spaceflight
https://science.nasa.gov/biological-physical/programs/space-biology
https://bioportal.bioontology.org/ontologies/NCBITAXON?p=classes&conceptid=6239
https://genelab-data.ndc.nasa.gov/genelab/accession/GLDS-166
https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronauts/space-medicine/concerns.asp
Hackathon Journey
It is an enriching experience where we got to experience a new, challenging and innovative atmosphere, and we learned many things, on top of which are "managing our resources and efforts within a limited time frame" and "enjoying the experience itself regardless of the final results." a main source of inspiration for choosing this challenge is how space biology can make humans reach Mars! During our journey, we were faced with many challenges, including our inability to meet offline, which could have affected the coordination of our efforts; however, we created a rigorous schedule for virtual meetings where we could systematically follow up on each member's latest work.
References
Quick Overview
Tardigrades can survive extreme conditions by going into a “tun” state, in which their body dries out and their metabolism drops to as little as 0.01 percent of its normal rate. When conditions return to normal, the tardigrade revives itself. A tardigrade can stay in a tun state for decades.
C. elegans made news when specimens were discovered to have survived the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003
Long term effects include cataracts, increased chance of cancer, and sterility
survive cosmic radiation if shielded by 2 to 3 m of meteorite material
eight-day-old adults are the most resistant to the ionizing radiation
survives extreme radiation in vacuum space
weightlessness causes many risks, and can endure 90 times earth's gravity
killed by exposure to hot water at 82.7 C (in tun state)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC99004/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8392105/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276494204_Analysis_of_the_Effect_of_Space_Radiations_on_the_Nematode_Caenorhabditis_elegans_through_the_Simulated_Space_Radiation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oHX59fAtON_HFNQA3epAaM37CATXw8yz/view?usp=sharing
Tags
#software #game #space_biology #children