Thursday, November 12, 2015

Future Engineers Design Challenge Winner

Emily was selected as the Future Engineers Design Challenge Winner for the Junior Category (K-12 years old) in early October 2015. The 3D print design challenge was to design a space container for zero gravity. She created a tea cage that would brew tea grown on the ISS. Here is the announcement posted by ASME.
This is her statement for the project:

"Sometimes it gets boring in space. Astronauts need something to liven up their meals. After looking at the categories for a space container I decided to make a container for liquids. In space liquids form spheres and stick to things they touch because surface tension is different in zero gravity. While doing research I saw a video from space of some string holding a sphere of water in place. I realized a cage could definitely do it, too. I was reading about juices and tea. That got my mind working. Tea is flavored by leaves and astronauts study plants in space. Astronauts could plant tea leaves in space and occasionally they could pick a couple leaves and make tea! You put the tea leaves in the lower compartment of this design. The lid closes on hinges so the leaves don’t float away. You use Velcro to keep the lid closed. Then you squirt hot water into the cage. The water sphere would just stay in the cage. The leaves flavor the water through the holes and then you drink the tea!"

Emily being interviewed in a google hangout by NASA engineers, Made In Space engineer, and an astronaut. 
test 3D print
Emily's Tinkercad design work in progress.

initial concept sketches

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