posted 09-18-2006 04:20 PM               

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Are you serious about space travel? Or perhaps you're a fanatic for flight? Maybe you're passionate about the planets? Are you eager for exploration?

NASA and WIRED Magazine are teaming up to find -- and reward -- "NASA's Greatest Fan." The agency is holding a video contest, and one deserving winner and guest will receive a free trip to Kennedy Space Center. There, they will be treated as VIPs at an upcoming space shuttle launch.

Video entries should show why their creators deserve the title of "NASA's Greatest Fan." The videos should demonstrate a passion for NASA and its programs, such as human spaceflight, space exploration, aeronautics, and space and Earth science. The videos cannot be longer than 30 seconds, or larger than two megabytes. They must also be appropriate for all audiences. The contest is open to U.S. residents only. Videos that do not meet those requirements will be disqualified. Entrants must be between the ages of 13 and 24.

It's not enough for the videos to be good; they also have to be submitted quickly. The contest opens at 8 a.m. ET on Monday, Sept. 18, 2006, and closes at midnight on Friday, Sept. 22, 2006. Only the first 1500 entries will be accepted.

Nine finalists will be selected by a team of NASA judges, and posted on the NASA Web site for online voting from Sept. 27-30. The video entries of the nine finalists will be featured at WIRED Magazine's NextFest technology showcase at the Javitz Convention Center in New York City from Thursday, Sept. 28-30. Visitors to NextFest will be given the opportunity to vote on-site from the Exploration Pavilion.

Through the partnership with WIRED, the winner and a guest will receive free travel and hotel accommodations for the trip to Florida. They will attend launch briefings and special tours with other VIP guests. The winner and guest will also be able to watch the shuttle launch from an upclose viewing area.

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posted 09-19-2006 08:44 AM               

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I love the idea behind this. I was very disappointed to read that:

(a) it was U.S. citizens only
(b) it was 13-24 year olds only
(c) it was only open for one week

...I run a website that has a readership full of NASA's greatest fans. I could easily imagine many of them submitting videos if it wasn't that they were born in the wrong country and/or in the wrong year...

Given a bit more time, I can only imagine the animated, polished videos NASA could see as entries.

I would hope that in the future this contest (and others like it) could be extended to reach larger audiences.

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posted 09-19-2006 09:05 AM               

Dude, NASA rocks!!

Leon

posted 09-19-2006 09:42 AM               

the two greatest fans are here. Robert and Ken H.. They view every launch

Why are they searching for a young person?

posted 09-19-2006 10:09 AM               

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Originally posted by lunarrv15:
What is WIRED magazine?

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WIRED's NextFest, to be held later this month in New York, is described as their "vision of a new world's fair". NextFest's pavilion on the "The Future of Exploration" is presented in partnership with NASA. The STS-121 crew will also take part in NextFest's opening ceremonies.

(As an aside, Richard Branson is using NextFest to debut his concept for the crew cabin aboard SpaceShipTwo.)

While WIRED's participation is certainly not without its publicity angles, I believe its encouraging to see them involved. NASA needs to embrace more partners like WIRED to reach audiences they might not otherwise.

posted 10-04-2006 04:22 PM               

https://contest.hq.nasa.gov/video_contest/

posted 10-04-2006 08:16 PM               

The videos they chose are rather silly in my opinion. I understand some are young, and that's ok, but most are not really creative nor do they show why they are fans.