​The female presence in the Science Days Challenge

In the Science Days Challenge, girls also stand out. Third place in the elementary school 2 category for the best science concept, the students from the schools Padre Anchieta, Manuela Melo, Laís Câmara, Nathália Campos and Thaís Storani, developed the Sustainable Shelter at the Bus Stop of Jundiai Shopping project.

The project was evaluated by many experts, one of them is the consultant, researcher, teacher at the Estácio de Sá institution at the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil, speaker and pilot of airplanes, Simone Keller Fütcher. "I see that it is super important for us to plant the dream in young people," said the judge, who is also actively working on other initiatives that seek to reach girls' interest in science – by promoting dynamic activities and scholarships for female students.
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Mentored by Professor Suely Zani, the team said that the experience of participating in Science Days was unlike anything they had done before. "We learned to always have our minds thinking about innovative ideas and how to help others with a simple act", said Laís. The group also added that they believe that each participant seeks to impact not only their local community, but the world. “It was great to know that our project is part of such a nice initiative”, said Thaís.
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By working together, we intend to continue to inspire excitement and enthusiasm within the world’s youth about STEAM and how accomplishments in these fields have – and will continue to – revolutionize the way we live, concluded Carla Michaelis, KSCIA's Project Manager.
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To learn more about Science Days, please visit ScienceDays.org

- Luma Keily
International Correspondent
 

A milestone in the attempts to maintain the International Space Station fully equipped. After the shutdown of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, the United States were unable to send its own astronauts into space. However, thanks to Space-X´s successful Demo-2 testing mission, that possibility has been restored.

Mike Hopkins (commander), Victor Gloove (pilot), Shannon Walker (mission specialist) and Soichi Noguchi representing JAXA/Japan (mission specialist). Together, the four astronauts form the team of Crew Dragon, an autonomous capsule with touchscreen controls. “It`s the future within our reach”, said NASA´s former space professional and current president of the Science Days USA Mike Lester. After a journey of 27 hours and 33 minutes, the astronauts arrived yesterday (17) at the Space Station to be part of an oficial ISS expedition, alongside three crew members of the expedition 64.

The crew-1 achievement was already envisioned by the founders of KSCIA International Space Academy (KSCIA) long before it happened. KSCIA was a pioneer organization by offering hands on and Project Based Learning (PBL) space education classes for high school students. “There was no doubt in our hearts that American astronauts would return to space soon”, said KSCIA´s project manager Carla Michaelis. The spaceship, popularly known as Resilience, was responsible for carrying out the first manned operational flight of the Crew Dragon capsule.

Space Education and the New Global Space Economy

Innovative PBL education is the key to provide the space industry a pipeline of talented professionals. By envisioning the growth of this sector, in 2016 KSCIA was one of the first organizations to sponsor Science Days, an international traveling space fair inspiring thousands of kids around the world to pursue STEM/Space education and careers. In 2019, Science Days, reached more than 65,000 students and educators.

According to Morgan Stanley, an American multinational investment bank and financial services company, the near term, space as an investment theme is also likely to impact a number of industries beyond Aerospace & Defense, such as IT Hardware and Telecom sectors. Morgan Stanley estimates that the global space industry could generate revenue of more than $1 trillion or more in 2040, up from $350 billion, currently.

By working together, we intend to continue to inspire excitement and enthusiasm within the world’s youth about STEAM and how accomplishments in these fields have – and will continue to – revolutionize the way we live. (SDCUSA)
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To learn more about Science Days, please visit ScienceDays.org

- Luma Keily
International Correspondent

The BioAsteroid experiment from the University of Edinburgh will investigate how gravity affects the interaction between microbes and rock in reduced gravity. The experiment uses the KEU-RK Experiment Units, each featuring two bio-mining reactors (BMR) capable of culturing microbial biofilms on the surface of a flat rock slide.

The two BMRs are totally independent and are equipped with reservoirs for chemicals and a culture chamber. The culture chamber allows gas exchange during the experiment. Moreover, the transparency of the culture chamber allows the visual observation of the microbial film without disassembling the unit. The scientific protocol is driven by the embedded electronics following a programmed timeline.

After re-entry on Earth both the culture slide and the process fluids will be retrieved for analysis.

​​SCIENCE OBJECTIVES

The BioAsteroid investigation studies how gravity affects the interaction between microbes and rock in a liquid medium with the goal to provide researchers a better understanding of basic physical processes - such as gravity, convection, and mixing - that control the way liquids mix with rocks and microbes. This will inform biomining, use of regolith in life support systems, and other bioprocessing applications involving rocks and regolith.

ASTEROIDS FOR EVERYONE

The Asteroid Mission initiative is a pioneer program offering a two-day hands on experience for students to learn about the history of space exploration and the characteristics of NASA's mission, which seeks to answer, through the analysis of the asteroid Bennu's chemical composition, questions such as “what is the origin of the universe. 

Click here to learn more (NASA) 

Click here to learn more about The Asteroid Mission 

​Click her to learn more about the experiment at the University of Edinburgh

​Click here for BioRock Studentship 

According to former NASA member Mike Lester, the traditional way of teaching is no longer enough to attract the attention of young people. Thus, the SDC initiative uses an alternative form of study by bringing the proposal to instigate young people's interest in science, technology, engineering arts and mathematics through space education. “Space seems to have a universal fascination”, revealed Mr. Lester who stated that, by generating curiosity, the subject facilitates the process of learning.

On Monday (2), the results of the winners of the Science Days Challenge were released. On the podium, only the first three placed in the following categories: elementary school 1, elementary school 2 and high school. However, the reality is different: we have 37 winning teams.

In the reality of social isolation, maintaining focus and determination was the greatest challenge. Despite the insecurities generated by the pandemic situation, hundreds of participants of the Science Days Challenge turned to collective well-being, with the proposal to build a better world. With a common goal, students and teachers came together to bring innovative ideas to life, each one with its own special characteristics.

​In recognition of this altruistic act and the commitment of all groups to finish their projects and deliver all the materials within the time determined by the event, in 2021 all teams will be awarded at Science Days global event. With the right to special award and being called on stage, every student will be honored, regardless of whether they were among the top three in the SDC categories or not. “You are all winners”, said SDUSA president Mike Lester, referring to the event´s participants. Under Lester´s management and the active support of KSCIA, in 2021 SDC will have the participation of several schools around the world.

The special acknowledgement of the Most Inspirational Project, Best Presentation Award, SDC Double Award and Global Positive Impact Award will take place later this month.
 
On Behalf of our Science Days Challenge team, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to KSCIA International Space Academy. We are deeply grateful for your huge contribution to our Project. With your help, we can continue to inspire children to aim for the stars!

Photography by Vinicius Fantuchi
 
- Luma Keily 
International Correspondent