Philosophy
NASA asks children "to explore how today's technology is bringing tomorrow's dreams closer to reality."
by
Megan Garber
May 21st, 2014
The Atlantic
In 1977, a year after the U.S. Bicentennial, the oil company ARCO asked Americans of the time what they thought the U.S. would look like to the Americans 100 years later, at the nation's Tricentennial. Their answers were recorded in a document, The Tricentennial Report, that featured, among other things, children's imaginings of 2077. The kids depicted a future full of ... robots. And of, this being 1977, atomic bombs. And of (this being 1977) humans circling the circumference of the Earth in peaceful holdings of hands.
I mention the 1977 drawings because NASA has just released a 2014 follow-up—a collection that asked children to share their depictions not of Earth, but of space. NASA's LaRC contest, Gizmodo's Matt Novak reports, was open to children of all school ages (K-12) in Hampton Roads, Virginia. It asked them "to explore how today's technology is bringing tomorrow's dreams closer to reality."
Some of the results, via NASA's Flickr page, are below. (You can see the full collection here .) And they suggest the changes that have taken place between 1977 and 2014: instead of atom bombs, there are melting polar ice caps. Space shuttles have been replaced by space colonies. The images, all in all, nicely represent the range of our current sense of the future: the wonder, the fear, the uncertainty, the potential.
- Deceased--john C. Houbolt
John C. Houbolt April 10th, 1919 to April 15th, 2014 "John C. Houbolt dies at 95; NASA engineer made moon landing possible" Houbolt's efforts convinced the space agency to focus on landing a module carrying a crew from lunar orbit rather than a rocket...
- In The Beginning...when Nasa Was Created
"Check Out The Document That Created NASA" The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 started it all. Happy birfday, NASA! by Joey Carmichael July 30th, 2013 POPSCI This document is the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which created...
- Case In Point--privatization Of Nasa
Crew Space Transportation-100 [CST-100] "Boeing unveils its commercial capsule spacecraft" July 22nd, 2010 PhysOrg.com Boeing won an award worth $18 million from NASA under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Space Act Agreement, which was intended...
- Nasa's Garage Sale
Have a few extra bucks? Get involved in NASA huge sale...and I mean huge. "NASA Garage Sale Includes Shuttles, Engines, Space Suits" by Jason Paur January 21st, 2010 Wired Looking for a good deal during the recession? Space geeks don’t have to...
- 1 In 318...odds Are Not Good
"NASA: Shuttle's Risk of Debris Strike Up 6 Percent" by Clara Moskowitz March 6th, 2009 space.com The recent surge in space junk created by an accidental satellite collision last month has bumped up the upcoming space shuttle mission's chances...
Philosophy
Kids and space art
"How Kids See Space"
NASA asks children "to explore how today's technology is bringing tomorrow's dreams closer to reality."
by
Megan Garber
May 21st, 2014
The Atlantic
In 1977, a year after the U.S. Bicentennial, the oil company ARCO asked Americans of the time what they thought the U.S. would look like to the Americans 100 years later, at the nation's Tricentennial. Their answers were recorded in a document, The Tricentennial Report, that featured, among other things, children's imaginings of 2077. The kids depicted a future full of ... robots. And of, this being 1977, atomic bombs. And of (this being 1977) humans circling the circumference of the Earth in peaceful holdings of hands.
I mention the 1977 drawings because NASA has just released a 2014 follow-up—a collection that asked children to share their depictions not of Earth, but of space. NASA's LaRC contest, Gizmodo's Matt Novak reports, was open to children of all school ages (K-12) in Hampton Roads, Virginia. It asked them "to explore how today's technology is bringing tomorrow's dreams closer to reality."
Some of the results, via NASA's Flickr page, are below. (You can see the full collection here .) And they suggest the changes that have taken place between 1977 and 2014: instead of atom bombs, there are melting polar ice caps. Space shuttles have been replaced by space colonies. The images, all in all, nicely represent the range of our current sense of the future: the wonder, the fear, the uncertainty, the potential.
- Deceased--john C. Houbolt
John C. Houbolt April 10th, 1919 to April 15th, 2014 "John C. Houbolt dies at 95; NASA engineer made moon landing possible" Houbolt's efforts convinced the space agency to focus on landing a module carrying a crew from lunar orbit rather than a rocket...
- In The Beginning...when Nasa Was Created
"Check Out The Document That Created NASA" The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 started it all. Happy birfday, NASA! by Joey Carmichael July 30th, 2013 POPSCI This document is the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, which created...
- Case In Point--privatization Of Nasa
Crew Space Transportation-100 [CST-100] "Boeing unveils its commercial capsule spacecraft" July 22nd, 2010 PhysOrg.com Boeing won an award worth $18 million from NASA under the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Space Act Agreement, which was intended...
- Nasa's Garage Sale
Have a few extra bucks? Get involved in NASA huge sale...and I mean huge. "NASA Garage Sale Includes Shuttles, Engines, Space Suits" by Jason Paur January 21st, 2010 Wired Looking for a good deal during the recession? Space geeks don’t have to...
- 1 In 318...odds Are Not Good
"NASA: Shuttle's Risk of Debris Strike Up 6 Percent" by Clara Moskowitz March 6th, 2009 space.com The recent surge in space junk created by an accidental satellite collision last month has bumped up the upcoming space shuttle mission's chances...