Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology

Application Closed

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology brings forth the second edition of IIST Innovation Challenge to be conducted on 4 th March 2019 at IIST, Thiruvananthapuram during the Annual Technology and Astronomy fest, Conscientia 2019.

IIST Innovation Challenge is the destination for the budding entrepreneurs to broadcast ideas that have the potential to change.

Contest Structure

● The participants have to give a Presentation on their Idea based on the problem statements provided. The presentation will be at Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 4 th March 2019 at Conscientia 2019. And the candidates will be shortlisted for the next round by panel of IIST faculties.

● The second and final event rounds will organised by Kerala Start-Up Mission who will be providing further support on developing the project.

● The presentation should give a clear idea on their solution for the problem statements. It can also include the feasibility studies and also cost estimates of the ideas.

● It should be of 15 minutes and extra 5 minutes to take up the questions.

● The participants should also submit a report stating their idea.

Eligibility Criteria

● Only Undergraduates and Post Graduate students from recognized Indian colleges and universities are eligible for participation.

● Students can participate on Individual basis or in teams of maximum 4 members.

● Only innovative proposals from the provided problem statements will be considered.

● Participants are supposed to attach a Bonafide Certificate from their respective college along with their submitted idea.

Awards and Recognition

● Up to three entries selected by the panel of judges from the Idea Presentation are eligible to enter the Second Round of Idea Fest, sponsored by Kerala StartUp Mission directly. For further details, visit:

https://sites.google.com/startupmission.in/idea-fest-2019/home

● The winners of IIST Innovation Challenge are eligible to participate in Idea Fest, with a chance to avail a sponsorship up to INR 2,00,000 for shortlisted ideas and an additional grant upto INR 7,00,000 for ideas with prototypes and prototypes with a customer base.

● Certificate of Appreciation attested by authorities for the qualified proposals by Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology.

● Certificate of Excellence attested by authorities to the winners of the IIST Innovation Challenge by Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology.

Selection Criteria

● The evaluation framework will be based on :

o Novelty of the proposed idea

o Depth of research in the required fields of expertise

o Clarity in technical aspects of the idea

o Magnitude of scope of application to a real market scenario

o Importance of Solving the Problem Statement to the society

● The Proposal Review Panel consisting of domain experts from various fields will be evaluating the proposals based on the framework

● The evaluation of the proposals of the qualifying round will be based on the framework. In case of any disputes, the verdict of the judging panel is final.

Problem statements

Problem Statement 1

Looking at the statistics, As of 5 July 2016, the United States Strategic Command tracked a total of 17,852 artificial objects in orbit above the Earth. If it continues this may hinder our future space missions leading to more mission failures. Design a innovative and effective method to remove these Space debris. The methods can be ground based or through other flying objects.

Problem Statement 2

In December 2004, the 370 meter asteroid 99942 Apophis caused a brief period of concern predicting the possibility of hitting the Earth on 2029 and a possibility of future impact seven years later on 2036. Later these possibilities were ruled out with additional observations. What if these observations misled us and there is a possibility of the Asteroid hitting us ??!

Is Earth ready to encounter this? Bring out innovative ideas and plans to solve this issue by setting this asteroid out of the path towards Earth (Asteroid mitigation) to reduce the possibility of impact.

Problem Statement 3

The 2009 satellite collision of Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 is regarded as the worst collision of artificial satellite in the history of space at a speed of 11,700 m/s. This collision at enormous speed caused the satellite to shatter into large number of debris which is now orbiting the low earth orbit posing threat to International Space Station and other satellite.NASA detected approx 1000 pieces of debris with a size larger that 10cm. Posing a constraint of measuring debris with size larger than 10 cm leaves a large number of debris unaccounted which can still be a threat to orbiting satellites. Come up with ideas to detect these debris of smaller size (land based or through satellite) and also design a method to remove these as well.4. An instrument to separate agro bags from treated soil

Problem Statement 4

Population overgrowth is slowing destructing earth leading to global warming. If soon didn’t find alternatives could lead humanity to extinction. So a proper, safe Human Colonization should be planned before its too late. Take the initiative and come up with possible idea of how desired colonization can be achieved on Mars. Given all the resources on Mars, how can this be used for human colonization and what are the things that need to be transported from earth to have a sustainable living in Mars. (Reference: Elon Musk’s idea of Mars Colonization)

Problem Statement 5

The much awaited Indian Human Spaceflight Program (HSP) is going to be a reality in 2021 sending there Indians to space, putting India in the fourth among the nations having capacity of human space flight. Making use of the microgravity platform in the Low Earth Orbit, scientific experiments can be conducted to provide more insight on various phenomenon on Earth and Space. Scientists have used the International Space Station for everything from testing technology for future space exploration to studying human health, understanding the effects on regeneration and mutations and many more. The proposed work could bea continuation of existing research, preparatory activities for potential short duration (1-7days) experiments on microgravity platforms, or a wholly new concept requiring a micro-gravity environment and human involvement. So this is your time to take up this challenge to come with some innovative ideas of experiments which can give a breakthrough in the science we know.( Ref : ISRO - Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for Low Earth Orbit based Microgravity Experiments).

Problem Statement 6

Since the age of Space station docking mechanism has been of prime importance which realized the space station itself and also providing means to connect with humans in space.Now these docking mechanisms can be taken up in joining smaller or cube satellite to perform larger missions. Large structures such as segmented mirrors telescopes or solar arrays or a radio antenna can be realized through the docking of many small or cube satellites. Deep-space automatic exploration programs could also take benefit from the employment of docking systems and reconfigure their mission profiles. Bring out your innovative ideas in realizing the docking mechanisms of small satellites which have generally 10cm sides.

Problem Statement 7

Virgin Galactic is coming with its Space Ship Two-class space planes and Blue Origin with New Shepard reusable suborbital launch system to engage people experience the outer space.These innovative sub orbital space tourism can also be used for fast transportation with far destinations of Earth. What if we are able to travel around the world to USA in a duration less than 40 minutes?? Come with ideas of low cost and faster travel solutions of space tourism and transportation.

Problem Statement 8

Space debris around Earth have always been an menace to the space craft around Earth. These sometimes have made the satellites to completely go inoperable and resulting in a major damage. So race your thoughts to come with some ideas to have a low cost/energy satellite deflection mechanism.

Reward

Direct entry into the Idea Fest finals and a chance to win grant upto 7 lakhs depending on the stage of your idea, subject to the review and selection by the KSM internal panel of judges.