Brazilian Youths Participate in NASA-Sponsored Hackathon

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The initiative is a marathon for developing innovations, known in the segment as “hackathons“, focused on creating solutions for the space field.

The challenge occurs in hundreds of cities around the world, gathering around 20,000 people. In 2018, there were 18,000 participants in 200 cities in 75 countries. In addition to face-to-face events, the initiative’s website allows for the remote involvement of people interested in following the tasks and activities.

The marathon includeds several challenges faced by youths organized in teams.

Participants use data collected by NASA in its missions to outer space to develop solutions. One of them, for instance, demands that participants develop solutions to stabilize the Earth’s climate and prevent or mitigate global warming.

According to the agency, the purpose is to foster knowledge of the body’s activities in space exploration, contributing to creating new knowledge and train students who may become scientists, engineers, technologists, and programmers operating in the sector.

Brazil

In Brazil, most state capital cities promote events related to the challenge. Among them are: Aracaju, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Goiânia, Fortaleza, Maceió, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Porto Velho, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, São Paulo, São Luís and Brasília.

In Brasília, the marathon began on Friday, October 18th, at the UDF University Center. At the opening ceremony, Carine Elpidio, the event coordinator in the city, emphasized its contribution to the promotion of a culture of peace and the search for solutions to social issues through the engagement of youths.

The Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Brazil, William Popp, recalled that innovations in space technology have contributed to other fields, such as GPS and bar codes. The diplomat stressed the relevance of the project as a means to reflect on responses to current society’s problems.

“It is important to exchange experiences in developing solutions in connection with the challenges our world faces. We have a huge challenge today and we need creative and collaborative people to use technology and ideas to move forward as a united people,” said Popp.

Expectation

Esther Cristina do Carmo Correa, an 18-year-old graphic design student at the Centro Universitário de Brasília, says she expects a discussion with other teams to take place at the event. “I think it will be a lot of fun, by interacting with people from other schools, to show them the knowledge that we acquire in the classroom,” she said.

In preparation for the event in Brasília, 18-year-old Willian Youtaka, a university student of Mechatronics Engineering, reported that he was anxious about the challenges that would be posed.

“I am very curious to understand the projects to be approached and to know a little more about this field of mechatronics,” he said.

Source: Agência Brasil