dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament de Ciències de la Computació |
dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Arquitectura de Computadors |
dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Institut de Ciències de l'Educació |
dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. Departament d'Enginyeria de Serveis i Sistemes d'Informació |
dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. SUSHITOS - Grup de recerca en serveis per a tecnologies d'informació socials, ubiqües i humanístiques, i per a software lliure |
dc.contributor |
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. CAP - Grup de Computació d'Altes Prestacions |
dc.contributor.author |
Pérez Poch, Antoni |
dc.contributor.author |
Sánchez Carracedo, Fermín |
dc.contributor.author |
López Álvarez, David |
dc.contributor.author |
Alier Forment, Marc |
dc.date |
2016 |
dc.identifier.citation |
Perez-Poch, A., Sanchez, F., Lopez, D., Alier, M. An ambitious and motivating Engineering project to promote Astronautics and transform society’s vision about Space Research. A: International Astronautical Congress. "67th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Guadalajara, Mexico, 26-30 September 2016". Guadalajara: 2016. |
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2117/100477 |
dc.language.iso |
eng |
dc.rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
dc.rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ |
dc.subject |
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Aeronàutica i espai |
dc.subject |
Aerospace engineering |
dc.subject |
space education |
dc.subject |
STEM |
dc.subject |
outreach |
dc.subject |
sustainability |
dc.subject |
space station |
dc.subject |
death star. |
dc.subject |
Enginyeria aeronàutica -- Congressos |
dc.title |
The death star challenge: an ambitious and motivating engineering project to promote astronautics and transform society's vision about space research |
dc.type |
info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion |
dc.type |
info:eu-repo/semantics/conferenceObject |
dc.description.abstract |
The race to put a person on the Moon motivated and captivated the imagination of USA society and the community
worldwide. This led to an unprecedented investment in science, technology and the space program, which eventually
resulted in a successful Moon landing in 1969. Current estimations state that, for every dollar invested in space
technology, there is a return of more than five dollars for the country's GDP. However, public opinion worldwide
does not perceive this investment as a benefit for the society. The moonshot was a challenge, an idea, a dream that
aligned a whole society towards progress. To change society's vision about space, our proposal is to promote an
outrageously ambitious, exciting and motivating Engineering project. While this project may be extremely difficult
to implement, it can be envisioned, brainstormed, analyzed, and even brought to the attention of policy makers.
It would involve the design of the greatest Engineering work in space, even greater than the International Space
Station (ISS). This endeavor would also help to raise awareness in our society about the Earth's sustainability. To
that end, the project would drive a circular economy requiring the development of technologies that in the mid-term
would reverse climate change. We believe that involving students from different backgrounds in this project would
be vital to attract the interest of future generations in Aeronautics and Space research. In order to do this, we propose
a number of outreach activities at all different teaching levels. We also propose the organization of an international
contest for different ages, in which student groups would submit innovative proposals for different technologies that
would be developed throughout the project. Furthermore, in order to raise awareness in our society, the project
should generate a debate.
The project would consist of the design and construction of a Space Station similar to that of the Star Wars “Death
Star”, but without its weaponry and making the most of the publicity around and the revived interest in the Star Wars
movies. Its construction would be feasible within a reasonable period of time, and the design would involve
international, intercultural and multidisciplinary student teams. This paper outlines the principles that underpin the
viability of this project. It also proposes a communication plan for universities as well as an outreach plan for the
public at large. Finally, it defines a strategy for developing sustainable projects and assessing the students' learning
outcomes. |
dc.description.abstract |
Peer Reviewed |