PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Stephanie R. Zeluck
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 1997
'SPACESET' GIVES STUDENTS A CHANCE TO DESIGN A MISSION TO MARS
More than 150 students from throughout California have
signed up to learn the intricacies of planning a space mission as
part of the 12th annual Space Settlement Design Competition
(Spaceset), to be held at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory on
April 4-6.
Sponsored by JPL Space Exploration Post 509, Spaceset aims
to give both male and female students between the ages of 15 and
19 years old a chance to design, plan and present a detailed
proposal for a space mission. This year's competition will
involve the creation of a permanent human settlement on Mars in
the year 2047, following last year's competition involving the
creation of an orbiting colony around the red planet. The goal
of the settlement will be the search for life on Mars, inspired
by the 1996 discovery of a Martian meteorite reported to contain
evidence of fossilized microbial life.
The JPL Scout post has been active for 25 years. Exploration
posts are affiliated with a particular field such as aerospace or
medicine in order to give young people a firsthand experience
working within those vocations. A committee composed of
scientists and engineers from JPL, Boeing and Berkeley Systems
Inc. developed this year's competition, and will comprise the
panel that will judge the submitted proposals.
Spaceset will begin on Friday, April 4, when the students
are given a description of the competition and divided into five
"companies," teams similar to actual aerospace companies.
Companies will then divide up according to function, including
human factors, automation, management, structures and dynamics
involved in the successful completion of the project. The
simulation will stress the importance of time restraints,
creativity, organization and use of information in a mission
proposal.
On Saturday, professional engineers and scientists from JPL
and elsewhere will give technical presentations to the students,
explaining in detail the crucial elements necessary in the
creation of a successful mission proposal. Throughout the
remainder of the day, students will use computers loaned by
Compaq to create and design a Martian colony and prepare their
mission proposals. Proposals will be judged on Sunday, when
students will also be given a tour of the JPL facility.
"Spaceset shows young people the reality of how engineering
projects are done," said Peter Mason, member of the JPL technical
staff and chairman of the JPL Scout post's committee. "Students
work through a systems design very much like engineers at JPL
would, and Spaceset can help teach them how to set goals and
organize themselves effectively to achieve those goals."
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