Physics:Dropping in a Microgravity Environment

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Short description: Contest held by NASA's Glenn Research Center


History

The DIME competition was first held in 2001 with two winning teams selected, both from Ohio. The contests continued, with an increasing number and diversity of winning teams, through 2006. In 2007, the contests were suspended because of a decrease in emphasis on microgravity research in the budget, not enough money was available to continue it. They were resumed in 2009[1] with the selection of 11 winners (3 Tier III winners were chosen). A program for grade 6-9 students called WING was also announced in 2009.[1] The number of winning teams was set at 8 in 2010, but due to budget cuts it was reduced to 4 in 2011, eliminating Tier II. The future of the program is unclear.[2]

Guidelines

In order to be selected, there must be a clear research question and a clear hypothesis that is related to the question. The hypothesis must be testable in 2.2 seconds, and gravity must be the experimental variable of the experiment. The utility of the proposed experiment in space exploration is an important criterion. The experimental apparatus may not be larger than a cube with sides of 12 in (300 mm). For safety reasons, the following are not allowed:

  • Pressures more than 2 atm
  • Radioactive materials
  • Hazardous chemicals
  • Biological samples (with the exception of common household materials) or living organisms

All electrical circuits must have circuit diagrams and be approved by Glenn staff. Wires must meet national standards.[which?][3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20090530140515/http://microgravity.grc.nasa.gov/DIME.html
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named DIME and WING
  3. ↑ "Dropping in a Microgravity Environment; Experiment Design Requirements." NASA Glenn Research Center. n/d. Web. Accessed August 19, 2011.



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