Lofts In Space: NASA Challenges College Students To Design Inflatable Space Habitats
WASHINGTON -- NASA is challenging college students to design concepts
for inflatable habitat lofts for the next generation of space
explorers. The winning concepts may be applied to the exploration
habitats of the future.
The X-Hab Academic Innovation Competition is a university-level
challenge designed to encourage further studies in
spaceflight-related engineering and architecture disciplines. This
design competition requires undergraduate students to explore NASA's
work to develop space habitats, while also helping the agency gather
new and innovative ideas to complement its current research and
development.
Students will design, manufacture and assemble an inflatable loft that
will be integrated into NASA's operational hard-shell prototype lab
unit. The competition winner will participate in a demonstration of
the submitted design during the 2011 Desert Research and Technology
Studies, or a similar field test next summer.
NASA's Exploration Mission Directorate and the Office of the Chief
Technologist's Innovative Partnerships Program are sponsoring this
new technology challenge. NASA is dedicated to supporting research
that enables sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration.
This educational competition contributes to the agency's efforts to
train and develop a highly skilled scientific, engineering and
technical workforce for the future.
For information about competition registration and requirements,
visit:
http://www.spacegrant.org/xhab
For more information about NASA's Exploration efforts, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/
For more information about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/oct
Source: NASA
