Robotics Designs Game for Space Station

The Robotics Club sent a 3D printable game up to the International Space Station (ISS) for astronauts to play with on the evening of January 5.

Senior robotics club member Oliver Ousterman said, “This was actually supposed to happen last year, but our things were on the flight that exploded, and so it got pushed back to this year.”

The Robotics Club partnered with the the program Made in Space for the project. According Ousterman, “The outreach person from Made in Space lives in Lafayette, and she had kids that went to Campo, and she knew that we had a strong school in general, and so she contacted us and then it ended up going to the Robotics Club.”

The club was allowed to print 1 object, using the 3d printer, that is 10 by 10 by 5 cm. They needed to fabricate a game for astronauts to play in this very small space. Junior Bennett Coates said, “The hardest part was definitely trying to build a game that utilizes zero gravity, because that’s not something that we’re used to.”

According to club adviser Nita Madra, “I think it’s important, because they have to think about how things are going to work in zero gravity. I think it’s just making them think about how things function in space, and that I think contributes to learning in terms of signs and space and where the future is in exploration of finding life on Mars.”