I Love to Sail Forbidden Seas

This famous quote by Herman Melville in Moby Dick is featured in this recently released short film named 'Wanderers'. Narrated by the legend that is Carl Sagan, the magical film by Erik Wernquist is a window into the future of humanity as we evolve into the space-faring species we are destined to one day become. It is inspiring, stunning and most of all makes me think I was born a century too early!

-Nikita

Fairytale Science

"Once upon a time, a spacecraft named Rosetta was launched into the night sky and had a long journey ahead of her to uncover the mysteries of our solar system. "

The ESA Rosetta team have created this cute video that explains Rosetta's mission and the magic of space travel whilst personifying the spacecraft perfectly.

After 31 months of deep-space hibernation, on 20th January 2014 the comet-chaser will be waking up at 10am, 673 kilometres from the warmth of the sun. Without coffee.

If you would like to wake up Rosetta, record your video shout out and submit it in the #WakeUpRosetta contest here. Wake up sleeping beauty! 

-Nikita

Snapshots of the Universe

Is the best way to teach physics to kids to make them think that they're just playing a fun game? Sneaky, but effective. With children (and me) glued to their screens with addictive games such as Candy Crush and Minion Rush, why not inject some space education into the games market?

Stephen Hawking has gone to great lengths to promote science through traditional methods such as books and television however he has now entered the software arena to inspire young scientists. The theoretical physicist and Professor teamed up with Random House to create 'Snapshots of the Universe', his first official app.

The iPad app contains mini-games, videos and text that illustrate a plethora of fundamental space concepts. Ranging from learning about G-force with Einstein and putting planets into orbit to master the theory of relativity, the game presents physics and space in a fun and engaging way. Video explanations from Hawking himself are available for the user to delve further into the depths of space.

" Based on the work and writings of Stephen Hawking, this app teaches both adults and students the basic theories that govern our lives on Earth as well as the movement of the stars and planets. You can play and learn at the same time in each of the eight experiments included in Snapshots of the Universe:

- Spin planets in orbit with your own solar system

- Drop objects with Galileo to learn about gravity

- Let Einstein feel some G-force in outer space

- Search for black holes in the constellation of Leo

- Discover Einstein’s warped worldview

- Plus more…"

I think that games such as these are onto something. With increasing evidence on the declining attention span of the younger generation and their increasing ability to use technology such as iPads, teaching through games that encourage learning through entertainment may well be the future of teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Published by Random House, the app is available on iTunes for $4.99.

-Nikita

Meeting Chris Hadfield - An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth

He spent 5 months living aboard the International Space Station (ISS), orbiting the Earth and inspiring millions of us on the beauty, awe and wonder of space. Sharing YouTube videos, tweets and Facebook updates of everyday Earth routines performed in space (my favourite is here), stunning ISS-eye view photographs of the world below him, and recording modified David Bowie song 'Space Oddity' , Chris Hadfield has touched the minds and hearts of individuals across the planet. His down to earth nature in combination with his social media outreach skills have taken the world by storm. 

Soon enough, he has become the world's most popular astronaut and today I had the chance to meet him in person at a book signing event in London for 'An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth'. It was great to see so many people immersed in the pages of his book whilst in the queue. I even bumped into a few friendly faces from the International Space University(ISU) and chatted to people who were interested in joining the space industry and told them all about ISU,  it definitely is the place to go if you want to work in space regardless of your background.

Admittedly, I did get super nervous when I was near enough to hear his distinctly Canadian accent and see his infamous moustache, however once I was face to face with the legendary space man his immediate interest in who I was and what I was all about took me by pleasant surprise. I found myself babbling about my love of space to the one person I have looked up to all year and he even light heartedly agreed with me, as an astronaut should!

"My family and I love space"

"So do I!" 

Good one Chris :)

If you would like to meet Chris Hadfield and get your copy of 'An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth' signed by the man himself, be sure to check out his book tour dates here.

-Nikita 

The Princess Machine

Only 1 in 10 engineers are female.
 It's definitely time to fix that shocker of a statistic and to do so, it may be worthwhile taking a look at our childhood. A time where most of us spend our hours napping (I still do) and watching cartoons (again I still do), playing with toys is a past time that takes up a great deal of our time as children. However, the toys that we are exposed to are those that manufacturers think that we want. Girls around the world are encouraged to play with anything in the shade of pink, ranging from Barbie dolls to kitchen sets and playhouses, whereas toys that encourage engineering-minds to grow, build and invent are marketed as toys for boys. 

Source: TrendsActive

I myself remember growing up surrounded by my Barbie doll friends and having several teddy bear picnics with delicious imaginary food, however my now engineer sister somehow managed to break outside of this girly mould. I would spot her taking apart things such as the TV remote control just to figure out how to put it back together and being far more interested in how things work as opposed to how much hair to cut off her doll to give her the make over of her life (RIP to all of my doll's hair). At the time, I just saw it as an odd past time to have, however looking back she was simply looking to the world around her in order to fulfil the engineering-mind that she clearly had and still has to this day.

It is this inquisitive, inventive mind of the budding engineer that San Francisco toy company GoldieBlox are harnessing  in order to inspire the next generation of female engineers. They aim to provide girls with toys that offer more than what is found in the 'Princess Machine' world of the girls toy aisle of today.

GoldieBlox have released the clever advert below showcasing some serious girl power that rivals even that of the Spice Girls and possibly even Queen Bee herself. (Sorry Beyoncé) Now that's some powerful stuff. Watch the empowering video below featuring the best Rube Goldberg machine I've seen and share it with girls and mothers that you know to encourage them to dream outside of the pink and blue boundaries that society has taught us from such a young age. 

"For the past 100 years, construction toys have inspired our boys to be thinkers, builders, and inventors. Our girls deserve the same...I created GoldieBlox because I believe that every girl is more than just a princess, despite what the pink aisle tells them. In under a year, we've grown from a home- made prototype to the shelves of Toys R Us. To survive next to Barbie, we need your help disrupting the pink aisle. Oh, and if we win we've got a group of 6 year old girls ready to rush the end zone. In tutus. "- Debbie Sterling Founder / Chief Officer of Fun

Vote for Goldieblox to win the chance of airing this advert at the Super Bowl here

-Nikita

Is Space "Y"our Dream?

I think it's important to share your passion for something that you feel strongly towards. Space, is something that I do feel this way about. However, it is also something everyone is connected to biologically, chemically, physically, environmentally and emotionally. With our everyday lives depending on the satellites that orbit our planet, to the stardust origins of the atoms within our own body, space affects us all. 

This documentary was made by my classmate and friend Edu Ferrete as part of his Individual Project at ISU. It's on the importance of Space in both everyday life and for the future of mankind and was creatively made with just his own resources and the intention to  inspire thought and provoke action.

 As you watch, consider if Space is your dream. 

Why Space? Why not

-Nikita