High-Level Project Summary
Heronova is an adventure game in space for people aged more than 9 YEARS to explore space travel stresses and how diverse organisms adapt to it.Among these stresses, Microgravity, Isolation, radiation, limited access to medical care which cause some disease may be fetal such as Muscle atrophy, Bone loss, cancers, Decompression sickness.Each level, player will experience one of these stresses and try to survive it, using available solutions in spaceship ( Bone loss issue and training every day to avoid that) After surviving the Challenge, he will win a card about one of organisms and how they adapt to space stresses so it provides information in funny interesting way.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
HERONOVA! What exactly does it do? How does it work?
The game aims to mix adventure and fun with increasing awareness about space travel stresses. The game starts WITH A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ABOUT the JOURNEY AND HOW LONG IT LASTS, the game briefly explains space stresses and how humans survive it, in addition to how diverse organisms adapt to it.
The game starts, the player will have a task to be done, like capturing pictures of space phenomena. During gaming, the player will have to keep himself alive. By some indicators( HEALTH STATISTICS) player will notice that stress affects him badly and try to solve it using available solutions
SOME STRESSES AND AVAILABLE SOLUTIONS.
- BONE LOSS AND MUSCLE ATROPHY BY USING THE GYM TO DO DAILY EXERCISES.
- SICKNESS DECOMPRESSION BY extravehicular activities (evas) AND SPACE WALKS.
AFTER PASSING EACH LEVEL, THE PLAYER WILL WIN A CARD ABOUT HOW OTHER DIVERSE ORGANISMS CAN ADAPT TO THESE SPACE CHALLENGES. AFTER COLLECTING SOME, HE CAN BUILD A SUPERHERO.
THE OTHER ORGANISMS:-
- WATER BEAR
- BACTERIA
- MICE
WHAT BENEFITS DOES IT HAVE?
The benefit of the game is that the player will have fun with learning through games so increase his \ her awareness in addition to UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE GAME:-
One of the most unique features of the game is the pieces of information that will be displayed during gaming to explain more about the stresses and how they survive it currently in space travels. Information provided won’t only be in the form of text, LINKS TO SPACESHIP RECORDED VIDEOS WILL BE PROVIDED TO MAKE THE EXPLORATION MORE REALISTIC.
What do you hope to achieve?
We hope that THE GAME makes an outstanding impact and increases people's aware about
SPACE TRAVEL CHALLENGES AND HOW DIVERSE ORGANISMS ADAPT TO SPACE, INCREASE THEIR PASSION FOR SPACE EXPLORATION AND FURTHER BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
What tools, coding languages, hardware, or software did you use to develop your project?
We developed this prototype using UNITY with C#, Visual studio, some of the icons and images were designed by us using Adobe Photoshop and other icons were taken from www.freepik.com
Space Agency Data
We used the data that NASA offers regarding the FIVE hazards that an astronaut experiences both on long space travels, or hazards that they have while they are at the space station.
These provided us with valuable information about how these stresses happen and why in addition to how space travelers survive that .
we use this data to determine challenges that will face space travelers in each level of the game and the best scenario to display that through the game.
Also the data provided by CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY(CSA) about medical issues happen regarding traveling to space inspired us to design the scenes of how human adapt to travel stresses. The data contains videos, essays and pictures which facilitate the understanding of data and using it.
For example , using data about how astronauts try to decrease the bone loss happen, that’s through designing special equipment for space station, for designing the GYM room that contain special equipment in the game for daily training .
Furthermore, we used data from NASA space biology program regarding how diverse organisms can adapt to space stresses and past space experiments done on them.
In the game , the data provided inspire us to research more about different organisms and how they adapt to space in addition to the features ,they have , which make them survive these stresses.
Hackathon Journey
There are many experiences we get from space app programs such as knowing more about space challenges, also knowing the programming in an advanced way in addition that, and knowing more experiences in games. There are many things we learned during the competition, As in NASA apps we work in a team which helps us gain more experience in two different directions. First, the technical part, as this helps us get better problem solving, also increased the potential for innovation in our project. In addition, More opportunities for growth and Expanded creativity in our thinking. Second, in the personal part, the NASA apps help us to improve our Communication skills, Conflict resolution, Negotiation skills, Collaboration, Flexibility, and Motivational skills.
Our team is inspired to choose this challenge because it is considered one of the most important challenges that are considered a fundamental focus for the discovery of the universe. Because knowing the ability of a different biological organism to survive in space and how it survives is one of the most important ways that help discover new methods through which humans can travel to space easily and opens new research methods.
There are more steps and strategies we took to resolve setbacks and challenges
First, Identify the problem
There are more steps we take to know and understand the challenge “BUILD
A SPACE BIOLOGY SUPERHERO” very well for example we searched
about how the object can be a superhero and survive in space
Second, Search for past solutions (Background research)
After knowing and understanding the challenge well, we worked to search about how
the people before us worked to solve the challenge and the different ways their
used.
Third, Find a solution
After we gain more information about the challenge and knew how the people solved it we worked to choose the best and most modern solution to solve the challenge
as we chose the game with a specific strategy to be sure that the object will survive in
space.
Finally, design and make the solution
After knowing our solution we divided our work with us into four roles ( graphic designer, researcher, expert writer, and programmer then each one take a role to
make it. And we work to make the game to solve our challenge with the specific strategy I mentioned before.
References
DATA
HRR - Risk - Risk of Radiation Carcinogenesis (nasa.gov)
HRR - Risk - Risk of Decompression Sickness [inactive] (nasa.gov)
HRR - Risk - Risk of Bone Fracture due to Spaceflight-induced Changes to Bone (nasa.gov)
Space Biology Program | Science Mission Directorate (nasa.gov)
5 Hazards of Human Spaceflight | NASA
What is decompression sickness? | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)
What happens to muscles in space? | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)
What happens to bones in space? | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)
How does radiation affect the human body in space? | Canadian Space Agency (asc-csa.gc.ca)
Water Bears are the Only Known Animals to Survive in Space - Fact or Myth? (factmyth.com)
Of Mice and Microgravity: How Spacefaring Rodents Adapt to Life in Space (Video) | Space
RESOURCES
https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/2d/characters/2d-character-astronaut-182650#content
https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/astronauts-leaving-cabin-science-fiction-illustrations-digital-painting_14541120.htm#query=spaceman&position=26&from_view=search
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/screen_shot_2018-03-21_at_10.33.40_am.png?itok=EDPHNBRv
https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/images/astronautes/medecine-spatiale/os-leroy-chiao-iss010e24002.jpg
https://img.freepik.com/free-vector/cute-astronaut-super-hero-cartoon-vector-icon-illustration_138676-3470.jpg?w=740&t=st=1664615768~exp=1664616368~hmac=312110b904c13cdb1b475181a79f1709e98003f3af371438b2fb976c8cb10bc5
https://scitechdaily.com/images/Tardigrade-Water-Bear.jpg
Tags
#SPACE #HAZARDS #HACKTHON #NASA #SUPERHERO #HERONOVA