NASA Space Apps Challenge 2021: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF THE SUN | Knowledge

Summary
Many space missions support our understanding of the Sun -- our nearest star -- and its significant impact on our lives here on Earth and on our plans to send human and robotic explorers to the Moon, Mars, and beyond! Your challenge is to develop a method to improve public awareness and understanding of these spacecraft and how the valuable data they provide impacts the way we live, work, and play.

Details
BACKGROUND
Scientists have wondered for decades about the origins, properties, and influence of the solar wind in all its forms (fast, slow, and transient) – especially as it speeds through the solar system toward interstellar space. Technology and techniques have finally come together to enable missions like Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter that are designed to study the Sun closer than ever before, with durable spacecraft fortified to perform investigations in hazardous regions of intense heat and solar radiation. Parker Solar Probe, for example, will fly close enough to the Sun to observe the young and pristine solar wind within its acceleration zone, and will fly through the birthplace of the highest-energy solar particles.

Parker Solar Probe is tackling three particular science challenges: 1) trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind, 2) determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind, and 3) explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles. But as an exploration mission, Parker Solar Probe is traveling through the last unexplored region of the solar environment where every observation might be a potential discovery.

Observations from heliophysics missions benefit humans on the ground by making critical contributions to our ability to forecast major space weather events that impact life and technology on Earth. But understanding the importance of such missions and the data they provide can often be difficult. However, access to digital tools (apps, games, and other interactive media) can bridge that understanding gap, making it possible for people to explore and realize the importance of space weather. Today such tools are more important than ever, as COVID-19 has limited access to classrooms and museums. Digital tools can also reach people who might never have an opportunity to visit NASA facilities. How can you make this information accessible to the public, so people around the world can see how important it is?

Let your creativity take you into the future! The thrill of developing a mission as challenging as Parker Solar Probe emboldened the science community and raised its aspirations. NASA launched the Heliophysics 2050 program to extend the vision and goals for missions and science by 2050 and beyond.

OBJECTIVES
This challenge calls for participants to develop an interactive and immersive method (or a visualization tool) to improve public knowledge of the many spacecraft exploring the Sun – including Parker Solar Probe, which is flying closer to our star than any other mission. Your tool or method should help the public understand how the valuable data these missions provide impacts the way we live, work, and play.

Your idea should encourage user engagement, enthusiasm, and new ideas for future exploration. Your project should emphasize current heliophysics missions such as Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter, while encouraging users to think about the future of solar exploration; e.g., "What would a future mission look like and what aspects of the Sun would it explore?"