To build on Beth Beck’s earlier post (Space Buzz: The New High), we really need your help to represent space exploration at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin!  Last year, the Moon 2.0 panel at the SxSW was very successful and we really want to keep the momentum going!  A number of space superstars have submitted some really interesting panels for the 2011 SxSW festival.  This year, of the 2346 proposed panels, 4 are space related.  We’re hoping all four are selected, but even one would be awesome.

We need your help! SXSW is a community-driven event and voting accounts for 30% of the decision-making process for any given programming slot.  Of the 2346 proposed panels, only about 80 get selected.  The more votes we submit for the space panels, the more likely they will be included in the final SxSW program.  Voting ends 11:59 CDT on Friday, August 27, so please vote today!

Inspiration: Here’s something that inspired me last year around SxSW time and is exactly the reason we need this panel at SxSW.  Watch this video, vote, and then tell your friends to vote.

Vote for “All These Worlds are Yours: Visualizing Space Data”

At the intersection of video gaming technology, open government and citizen science are new applications making it easier and more fun for the public to explore space data. Get an inside look at virtual environments incorporating real-time spacecraft data and images. Become an armchair astronaut and travel through the cosmos from your personal computer. Ride along with NASA spacecraft, hazardous asteroids and distant planets, or just experience the vastness and beauty of space. All these worlds are yours… including Europa.

Questions Answered:

• What games, applications and virtual environments are being developed using space mission data?
• Where have the spacecraft been, what have they seen, and how is their data processed to create these environments?
• How quickly is real-time science data available for the public to see?
• What are the educational applications of these environments?
• What does an earth flyby look like from an asteroid’s POV?

The Next Rocket Scientist: You

Vote for “The Next Rocket Scientist: You”

For over half a century, NASA has inspired people across the world to look to the heavens and wonder what secrets are hidden within the cosmos. Solving those mysteries has long been the domain of lab-coat wearing scientists in government agencies and universities. However, with the advent of the internet, social web, and open source data, it has become possible for anyone to make scientific discoveries about our universe. Find out how you can actively contribute to space exploration and how the collective power of the internet is enabling the future of scientific research.

Questions Answered:

• What are the different ways I can participate in space exploration?
• How can I contribute to science without a formal science background?
• What’s the history and present state of citizen science?
• How can I get started right away?
• Do my contributions actually make a significant impact and receive personal recognition?

Panelists:

Nicholas Skytland, NASA
Ariel Waldman, Spacehack.org
William Pomerantz, X PRIZE Foundation
TBD, panelist

Space Buzz-The New High

Vote for “Space Buzz – The New High”

As NASA explores the new social frontier it is breaking boundaries in the way Federal Government communicates by drawing in input from people of all walks from all over the world. Using the NASA Buzzroom site, NASA has given a voice to individuals whose unique opinions would otherwise be unheard. This panel will include NASA professionals as well as social media and design experts to engage the audience in sharing thoughts on how to break of the social solar system for worlds unknown.

Questions Answered:

• How to create a buzz and stay relevant storm of available information.
• How to collect the buzz, the design and development aspects.
• How best to use the buzz?
• Why should NASA care about the buzz?
• How to perpetuate a buzz?

Panelists:

Beth Beck, NASA
Jesse Thomas, Jess3.com,
Stephanie Schierholz, NASA
Miles O’Brien
Ariel Waldman, Spacehack.org

The Power of Prizes: Crowdsourcing Breakthroughs

Vote for “The Power of Prizes: Crowdsourcing Breakthroughs”

Incentive prize competitions have a long history of success in spurring innovative and creative answers to challenging problems. But more recently, the prize model has received a boost in popularity and attention. Why? This panel will discuss how and why companies, organizations, and governments are leveraging incentive challenges to drive breakthroughs, ranging from the creation of highly efficient processes (such as the Netflix prize), to demonstrations of technological capability (such as the DARPA Network Challenge), to solving the grand challenges of humanity (such as the Archon Genomics X PRIZE), and everything in between. Join us as we explore the leading edge of crowd-driven innovation.

Questions Answered:

• How do incentive prizes work?
• What are the benefits of the incentive prize model?
• What are some currently active prizes?
• How can you utilize incentive prizes in your business or organization?
• How can you participate in incentive prize programs as a “solver”?