Tackling the pitfalls of space using Antarctica
Exploring space is one step closer as Kiwi minds work on solutions to the pitfalls of navigating new planets.
Scientists from the lower North Island have been brainstorming for months to come up with solutions to some of space exploration’s trickiest pitfalls.
Tonight, they will be presenting their ideas to the public and a panel of judges at the Dowse Art
Museum in Lower Hutt in the regional finals of the inaugural New Zealand
Space Challenge.
Six entrants from Taranaki to Wellington have used Antarctica as a stand-in for other planet surfaces and will present ideas on how to identify crevasses and keep scientists safe in both Antarctica and outerspace.
Different technology, from artificial intelligence to drones, will all be floated as potential solutions. The winning idea will go on to the final of the inaugural New Zealand Space Challenge, to be held in Christchurch.
New Zealand Space Challenge co-founder Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom said New Zealand was a good place to build and trial a newer type of space industry.
‘‘We think New Zealand is a nation of explorers, starting from the Ma¯ ori culture, then there were the sea explorers.’’
Kiwis were also specialists in helping explore Antarctica and space was the next logical step, she said.
New Zealand’s isolation made rocket launches easier and the Government was willing to help make space exploration easier. For example, when space company Rocket Lab was working on launches, new policies were quickly introduced to help it.
For Paat-Dahlstrom, the main goal of the New Zealand Space Challenge wasn’t just finding solutions to dangerous exploration situations, it was bringing the scientific community together to tackle such problems.
The winning pitch will go through to the finals and the regional winner will receive six months worth of ‘‘incubation’’ time, including mentorship and a co-working space, to develop their idea.
The presentation at Lower Hutt’s Dowse Art Museum is part of the Hutt STEMM Festival, running during May. There is also a Women In Tech breakfast, preschool story time, talks by GNS scientists, as well as a space and science night.