What will space-grown apple taste like? How do we have sex in space? Can robots find water on the Moon? The answers to these questions were explored at the SpaceTech hackathon organized by Garage48 in collaboration with Mektory Space Centre, Tartu Observatory and the Universty of Tartu.
SpaceTech is the first space hackathon in Estonia with the ambition to design innovative solutions for global challenges in space. The event connected engineers, developers, designers, researchers and other enthusiasts who want to conquer the space.
Garage48 team pulled out all the stops to deliver a top class experience for all the space geeks from all over the country. Tartu University Institute of Physics as a venue was picked not without reason – the university gave birth to ESTCUBE-1, first Estonian satellite developed as part of the Estonian Student Satellite Program.
During the weekend over 80 people from various backgrounds were competing for the prize 1000 e from the city of Tartu and tickets to regional leading startup events Latitude59 and Arctic15. The event hosted Co-founders of the Shackleton Energy Company Jim Keravala and Erika Ilves who inspired the participants with industry insights.
The winning team of the hackathon was Spaceport Technologies project that developed a solution to prevent protection against corrosion in space. The first runner became MapCollapse, the web app, which helps to discover cracks or potential collapse of buildings from satellite radar imaging.
“Our mission with SpaceTech hackathon was to get more attention to space industry in Estonia. We definitely will be doing more space hackathons in the future, bringing them to neighbouring Finland and Latvia, and beyond,” comments Kai Isand from SpaceTech organizing team.
The team Love Space did not win with its installation, but there could surely be a market niche.
https://youtu.be/cHEo8Fsj6rw
