Star Trek Replicator Challenge
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The American Society for Mechanical Engineers Foundation, NASA, and Star Trek, have announced the third Future Engineers Challenge for students aged K-12.
“Calling all Starfleet cadets! Star Trek and NASA want you to engineer the future of food in space. If you are a K-12 student in the United States, your challenge is to create a digital 3D model of a non-edible, food-related item for astronauts to 3D print in the year 2050. We want students to ‘boldly go where no one has gone before’ with 3D printing, by making designs that help astronauts eat nutritious meals so they can ‘live long and prosper’ in locations beyond the International Space Station. Eating a meal in space involves more than the actual food itself – from growing plants to preparing and eating meals.”
“Sustainability will be a critical aspect of long duration space missions and will require off-planet manufacturing technologies to create all of the items our future astronauts need,” said Niki Werkheiser, NASA‘s in-space manufacturing manager.
Prizes for the winners include a trip to New York for a tour of the Enterprise Space Shuttle and a meeting with an astronaut, a 3-D printer for the winner’s school, and a Star Trek prize pack.
For more details, head to the link here. The challenge runs through May 1.
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