A huge number of smart people work at NASA. However, the space agency also often turns to civilian scientists for help in solving the most complex problems. One of the reasons is financial. NASA's budget is $ 19 billion, but money is quickly absorbed by long-term projects, like sending people to Mars. Limited resources force NASA to plan its budget wisely. If the agency needs a solution to the problem with a discount, then it turns to the NineSigma company.
For example, recently senior company manager Kevin Andrews coped with the task of NASA in developing new tools for extraterrestrial infrastructure transporting space stones and dust. The nature of the problem is technical, but it is great for making innovations.
Andrews says:
“At first, the topic seems banal, until you start thinking about the cost of shipping any material or equipment from Earth to Mars. At each kilogram, you can save $ 50,000 for transportation costs and fuel costs. This is a huge incentive for creativity ”.
Home sweet home?
It is important to understand that we cannot build a colony on Mars in the same way as on Earth. On our planet, cement is used with a small amount of rubble and water to create concrete. Then it is used to form various structures. There are water problems on the Red Planet. If there are deposits, they may not be located at the sites of the intended landing.
NineSigma seems very attractive to NASA because they hold special competitions for the best project or idea for a space agency. For example, in the last competition, about 50 proposals arrived, where half were technically developed enough to attract the attention of NASA.
If at least one idea leads to a slight increase in the efficiency of creating infrastructure on Mars, then NASA will save millions of dollars in the long run.
However, it is not only about cost savings. The fact is that highly qualified specialists are not always better able to cope with difficult problems compared to people from different backgrounds. In fact, the competition allows you to collect a huge number of courageous enthusiasts who do not worry about their place, but take risks and create something new. In addition, NASA experts have long been cooking in the subject and can not always look at a question or a problem with a fresh look. Rich technical experience is useful for many things, but it can limit the approach to solving new difficulties. Highly qualified experts continue to develop complex technical systems. However, they will never give up a potentially profitable solution from the outside.
This is precisely why a smith from South Carolina, who did not undergo any training in space research, recently won a NASA competition to create a system for testing space suits. Missile builders will be able to create a transport to Mars, but the colonization of the planet will be based on enthusiasm and human resources.
