NASA challenge wraps up at LU Orillia

Lakehead University's Orillia Campus hosted the 2024 NASA Space Apps challenge this weekend, which allowed teams of students, mentors and scientists to brainstorm solutions for global issues using real-world NASA data.

"Every time people think about space, they think it's so futuristic and distant, but there are a lot of similar challenges on Earth," said Anastasiia Prysyazhnyuk from the Canadian Space Agency, one of the mentors. "[Challenges] such as isolated and remote communities across Canada that don't have access to health care resources, they don't have access to health care professionals. And that is something we can truly bridge the gap by utilizing space technology and the knowledge that we've acquired."

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16 teams of all ages came up with ideas that solved a real-world challenge and pitched them to the group. The top three were awarded prizes.

Noah Richardson, a high school student at Stayner Collegiate Institute Student, worked with his group to figure out how the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for the environment could be taught more practically in school.

"We're just trying to increase the amount of info actually taken in by students so that they can properly use it in our day-to-day lives and improve our environment," said Richardson.

All submitted projects from around the world will be reviewed by NASA partners, who will eventually award the top ten winners.

"Universities exist to bring people together to have conversations about important things," said Jessica Lovett, Lakehead University's director of career services at Orillia. "No matter what happens with [the] individual project ideas, everyone who's taking part is building skills, gaining experience working on a problem and expanding their professional network, and it's going to contribute to their future career success."