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How Stuff Will Work In Space: 2016 Middle School WEBChallenge

In collaboration for the 4rd annual Middle School WEBChallenge, TAG-Ed, the Atlanta Science Festival and HowStuffWorks present: How Stuff Will Work...in Space! On Earth, we benefit from space exploration technology in our lives every day. "Space is everywhere you look," and technology from space exploration tracks back to our homes, cities and communities in places we may not recognize. From memory foam sneakers to flash drives, space exploration innovation has been moving our societies forward for decades. But what is next in space exploration? What exciting new technology being used in space will catapult our societies forward in the next 30-50 years? What problems that we face on Earth will be solved with emerging space exploration technology? These are the questions that students will answer though this exciting hands-on design competition. This competition engages Georgia middle school students with hands on design experience. Student teams strategically utilize technology to address the ways that our world will change drastically in the next twenty to thirty years. The WEBChallenge requires the teams to design a website that identifies a topic whose development over the next few decades will greatly impact our society. On this site, users can view the exciting and innovative content created by the Top 20 competing teams.

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2016 WEBChallenge Finalist: Quantum Energy Group

Faculty Advisor: Wayne Wheeler School: Jefferson Middle School, Jackson County

The Quantum Energy Group

Our ConstantChargeTM battery solution uses entanglement to create a state of constant charging. Battery A is in a state of constant charging, housed on a solar charging satellite. Battery B is used to power a motor (or any other electrical application). Since these two batteries are entangled at the quantum level, the charge level is the same on both batteries. The last step of the puzzle is creating a battery array that provides the level of electricity you need. Using this method, battery B will always have power. Better yet, once deployed there is virtually no cost associated with solar charging.

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2016 WEBChallenge Finalist: Supersonics

Faculty Advisor: Kamare Pierce-Arrington School: Lighthouse Tutoring & Enrichment

Fusion Fuel: Moon Dust

Today our normal nuclear energy source is nuclear fission, which is splitting atoms. Which can result in major accidents like the event in Chernobyl, Ukraine. The ingredients to make nuclear fission are tritium and detritum, which results in helium and one neutron. Although, neutrons are very hard to store, and that could be very dangerous. But, we also have the option of using clean nuclear energy, which is nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion is merging atoms. Merging atoms is much safer than splitting them, and using nuclear fusion could decrease many environmental threats.

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2016 WEBChallenge Finalist: Pierce Team 1

Faculty Advisor: Brandi Metts School: Pierce County Middle School, Pierce County

The Future of Space: Powering the Future with Lunar Soil

Imagine a world where fuel and energy run low. Everything would be difficult and chaotic because we use fuel for many daily tasks. We use energy and fuel for most commonly transportation but also many other functions including lighting office buildings, moving freight, heating and cooling our homes, and manufacturing the important products we rely on. This is hard to even fathom sometimes but it could happen. However, the element that could save us lies somewhere very interesting: The moon's soil and surface. Many samples of lunar soil have been taken throughout the years of space exploration and investigation. According to the Popular Mechanics official website, these samples "would provide the best reason to return to the moon in the 21st century. In 1985 young engineers at the University of Wisconsin discovered that lunar soil contained significant quantities of a remarkable form of helium. Known as helium-3, it is a lightweight isotope of the familiar gas that fills birthday balloons.

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2016 WEBChallenge Finalist: Team Li

Faculty Advisor: Mary Zachrich School: Crabapple Middle School, Fulton County

Polymer Areogels

Aerogels have one of the lowest densities of any solid, and are 1000 times less dense than glass. When it comes to insulation, aerogels can provide up to 39 times more heat protection than a comparable amount of fiberglass. Aerogels were used as insulation in the Sojourner Mars rover, the first wheeled vehicle to land on another planet, as well as the Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity. Some aerogels can even withstand 4,000 times their own weight.

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2016 WEBChallenge Finalist: Lanier Team 5

Faculty Advisor: Michele Langhans School: Lanier Middle School, Gwinnett County

Innovation Space: The Spoctor

The Spoctor is designed to help diagnose and give treatment options to astronauts living in space. It will be programmed with thousands of viruses, infections, diseases, and other illnesses that it will be able to identify in a patient. It will also recommend treatment options if necessary. It can identify anything from the common cold to narcolepsy.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Cosmic Storm

Faculty Advisor: Mary Jones School: Southeast Bulloch Middle School, Bulloch County

Zero-G 3-D Printers

Currently NASA is testing how 3D printing works in zero gravity. This new ability to create needed hardware when it is needed could be vital to future generations as the times progress as the availability of craftsmen dwindle as do the resources.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Lanier Team 2

Faculty Advisor: Michele Langhans School: Lanier Middle School, Gwinnett County

Astro Apparel

Astro Apparel has come up with an idea that will help astronauts and people living on Earth. The idea is to create a no-plumbing clothes washer based on what dry-cleaners use. You can find more information on how this will work on the “The Solution” page. This will be helpful to those who can’t afford to have a high water bill, or people who live in rural areas without any public water systems. Many people who can’t afford a washer, or who just want to cut down on the cost of washing clothes would be affected. Also, if someone where to live in a desert-like area, or one that had droughts frequently, it would be possible to live there.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Lanier Team 11

Faculty Advisor: Michele Langhans School: Lanier Middle School, Gwinnett County

Discover the Universe With the Space Explorettes!

The introduction of this technology to space will bring benefit to all while providing us with an income and an insight about the world around us. Scientists will be able to more easily gather information on new and current things in space without having to make the long journey out into the middle of the universe. This will also provide many new jobs to people with the experience and love of engineering and space technology. Educators will be able to provide our children with a greater education about what exists in our universe, and we will no longer have to pose the question "who know's what's out there."

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2016 Honorable Mention: Lanier Team 1

Faculty Advisor: Michele Langhans School: Lanier Middle School, Gwinnett County

R/C Space Car

When discovering a new planet we usually can't figure out exactly what the surface is along with other aspects. To help with this we thought of using a high-technology remote control car. One of the great things is it doesn't require millions of dollars to send up into space, it is portable and can easily fit with astronauts on the space ship. It will have a live video feed, the ability to take pictures, roam in/out under/over and through any unknown substance. The antenna is very strong and has the ability to be worked from Earth. It also has Sonar, this will look below the actual surface of planet, and a cartridge area for to bring "souvenirs". This could be the new ground-breaking device that leads us to the exploration of other galaxies and planets.

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2016 Honorable Mention: SpaceLads

Faculty Advisor: Loren Hynes School: Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School, Fulton County

Lower Atmosphere Delivery System

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2016 Honorable Mention: Eco Space

Faculty Advisor: Melissa Barlow School: Griffin Middle School, Cobb County

EcoSpace

AF-M315E is a miracle rocket fuel. Previously, hydrazine was used to power rockets, but it is extremely expensive, flammable, and bad for the environment.

AF-M315E is eco-friendly for many reasons. First of all, AF-M315E is a monopropellant. A monopropellant is a rocket fuel that does not contain an oxidizing agent. One example of an oxidizing agent is nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide is a gas that can have many hazardous effects. It can cause lung irritation and even influenza. Nitrogen dioxide is also dangerous to the environment, causing smog and acid rain. With AF-M315E, oxidizing agents like nitrogen dioxide aren't necessary.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Anti-Matter

Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Higgins School: Piney Grove Middle School, Forsyth County

Anti-Matter

Anti matter cars would run on anti matter and not release pollutants into the sky. Unlike cars that run on alternate fuel sources. 

While the gas supply is always depleting, one day we will need an alternative source of energy. Anti-Matter could be the solution!

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2016 Honorable Mention: Couch Team 1

Faculty Advisor: Christopher Stewart School: Couch Middle School, Gwinnett County

Asteroid Defense

Welcome to our Asteroid Defense Website! This is your thorough well-detailed guide to our amazing Asteroid Defense Initiative. Be ready to be lasered into a new galaxy of information about asteroids! Our website provides the necessary components to accurately promote our program, problem, career, and solutions that will impact our planet for the better. It will also explain how it will affect each and every one of us, as well as how we can protect our planet for the better. Buckle up, and get ready to go onto an out of this asteroid adventure into our website!

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2016 Honorable Mention: Rapid Rockets

Faculty Advisor: Samuel Bell School: Ridgeview Charter Middle School, Fulton County

Rapidly Reusable Rockets

Rapidly reusable rockets are a solution to make space travel more frequent , less expensive, and safer.

Companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are making rockets that are able to land instead of being destroyed after each flight. This allows them to not have to build a new rocket every time.

Space travel will be more frequent because they can reuse the rockets now, so they don't have to spend time building new rockets. It will be less expensive to send rockets into space so, it won't take as log to save money to make all of the rockets.

With new technology, space companies are trying to make rockets safer and crash less.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Energy Scouters

Faculty Advisor: Ibrahim Sanal School: Fulton Science Academy, Fulton County

Energy Depletion: The Real Problem In Space

Energy Depletion is decreasing or the lack of energy. This is a major problem on both earth and space.

Solar power: One of spaces main energy transmitter is the sun. But one of the problem is when the space center is blocked from the sun the center does not get any energy.

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2016 Honorable Mention: Beyond Apollo

Space Hotels

There is a big problem when it comes to exploring space, and that problem is how expensive it is to build parts for all these spaceships and drones that are sent to space, or other parts needed for space exploration. The large debt owed by the United States (16.3 trillion) makes it very hard for any space program to get money.

Due to this problem we are not able to explore parts of space we’ve always wanted to, and things we send out to space could be better if only we had the money to spend of them. They could also be sent out earlier because all the parts could be built right then instead of having parts right there and waiting for the money to build the rest.

The way we will solve this is by allowing up to six people the chance to go and stay at the Space Hotel for 6, 12, or 18 months, for each six months an individual pays $100,000. Using this money we can pay for many things that space exploration needs, and the parts will be made quicker better and stronger. With the money we can make sure the drones get to unexplored planets faster and make the pictures it takes comeback faster too.

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