NASA: "WE DEMAND THERE BE REPLICATORS."

[rhoenix]

“Calling all Starfleet cadets! Star Trek and NASA want you to engineer the future of food in space.”

That’s the message that NASA and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation are sending to enterprising young inventors across America, as part of the new Star Trek Replicator Challenge.

The challenge, which was officially announced today at New York's Intrepid Air and Space Museum (the one on a retired aircraft carrier), asks kids in grades K-12 to create 3D models of non-edible, food-related items (i.e. knives, flatware, food storage/disposal devices, etc.) that astronauts will be able to 3D-print in the year 2050.

The grand prize winners in the "Junior" and "Teen" age categories will receive trips to New York City to visit the Intrepid Air and Space Museum's "Starfleet Academy" experience, as well as a tour of the decommissioned Space Shuttle Enterprise with a NASA astronaut as a guide, and "mystery Star Trek prize pack." Meanwhile, four finalists in each age group will get a 3D-printer donated to their school. And 10 semifinalists will also get a prize pack from NASA and Made in Space.

The submission period runs from today through May 1 and the winners will be announced on July 5. Read the rules here, the design guidelines here, and create an account here.

The challenge is officially part of NASA and ASME's collaboration called "Future Engineers," and is the third challenge to be issued so far.
The first competition, the “Space Tool Challenge,” took place in the spring of 2014 and saw students design a tool that could be 3D printed by astronauts. The second competition, the “Space Container Challenge,” occurred in the fall of 2015 and had students design a container that could be 3D printed by astronauts.

According to the official press release on StarTrek.com, winning prizes include “a trip to New York for a tour – with an astronaut -- of the Space Shuttle Enterprise at the Intrepid Museum, a 3-D printer for the winners’ schools or a Star Trek prize pack.”

So, NASA and some people affiliated with the Star Trek franchise are asking for ways to make 3D printers into actual-factual replicators. This should be fun.

[rhoenix]

While it isn't quite the magical wave of hand envisioned in Star Trek, 3D printers are still pretty close to the replicators seen from The Next Generation on, able to fabricate body parts, cars, and even food from raw materials. It's no wonder NASA wants them to build tools, rocket engines, and even housing on Mars. But now, NASA has launched a challenge meant to bring kids into the mix: it wants 3D printed food implements.

It's not quite the same as, say, a 3D printed pizza. But what NASA wants is, essentially, kitchenware and food growing aides. In the Star Trek Replicator competition, it wants "non-edible, food-related item for astronauts to 3D print in the year 2050," which is around when we'll supposedly be on Mars. Ish.

The design guidelines are fairly open ended, but there are a few ground rules. It must not be bigger than 6 inches cubed (6"x6"x6".) The K-12 student designing it must designate where it will be 3D printed, and why it's suited for that environment. It must advance long term space exploration. And it must involve only a single material (so there's no printing, say, a metal alloy and plastic into the same object.)

The contest kicks off today, with entries due by May 1. Four finalists will win a 3D printer for their school and a PancakeBot for themselves, while the grand prize is a tour of the Intrepid Sea, Air, & Space Museum in New York with an astronaut, a bunch of Star Trek swag, and more. There are multiple eligible age groups, so if you have a school aged child, this could be just the contest for them.

More info from Popular Mechanics.

[Batman]

They had replicators in Stargate. Didn't end well.