Prototyping our Sci-Fi Space Future:

Designing & Deploying Projects for Zero Gravity Flights

Syllabus for Graduate Course MAS.838 / 16.88

Instructors: Ariel Ekblaw, Cody Paige, Joe Paradiso, Jeff Hoffman

Class period and room: Tuesdays 1pm - 3pm, E14-514B

Recitations: TBD [optional/as required, see below]

12 units [2 hrs class time; 1 hr recitation time; 9 hrs out of class homework]

Course website: https://zero-gravity.pubpub.org/

Contact: zerogravity@media.mit.edu

Course Description: 

Welcome to the MIT Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) course on project development, prototyping, and deployment readiness for parabolic flights,culminating with an annually chartered research flight. Admitted student teams will be offered project deployment slots on the MIT SEI’s Spring 2024 parabolic flight. This course will cover three main topic areas:

• rapid prototyping and engineering skills to prepare projects for operation in altered gravity conditions
• logistics, training, and safety pre-approval steps to meet flight readiness requirements and pass a Technical Readiness Review (TRR)
• creative and technical lenses for the future of space exploration, exploring the MIT Space Exploration Initiative’s design and prototyping approach, MIT parabolic flight research examples across Science, Engineering, Art, and Design, and across departments. 

Weekly sessions will rotate between providing direct preparatory steps for the parabolic flight, building skills towards project development and testing, and providing background knowledge and relevant real-world examples via guest lectures. Recitations will be offered throughout the course, to support prototyping and project development outside of class hours. Students are expected to attend recitations, but can opt-out if they can demonstrate prior mastery of the skill in question. Short problem sets will be assigned, associated with the Mechanical Design, Sensing & Electrical Design, and Manufacturing lecture content. Limited readings will be required, with short reading responses and project page documentation submitted via the PubPub course website.

By the end of the class, we expect student projects to be ready to pass an internal Critical Design Review (CDR) with an accompanying, mature prototype. Students will be expected to use the intervening time over IAP and early spring semester to finalize a flight-ready model and submit final paperwork to the parabolic flight provider, with SEI guidance.

This class is not intended to teach the fundamentals of mechanical design, embedded programming & circuits, and rapid prototyping from scratch. On most topics, we will assume prior knowledge. If you are new to these skills, we recommend taking “How to Make (Almost) Anything” in parallel.

Admission to the Course: 

Admission to the course will be done by a “project team” consisting of one or more members. Interested graduate students apply via an online webform (link below) and share details on their proposed concept and team members. Depending on interest level and the number of applicants, we may have to cap team size to 3 or 4 people per project, actually admitted into the class. We do NOT require that all members of a team take the class, just a minimum of one representative for the project.

Admitted teams will be invited to take the class together and the associated single, coordinated project will be granted a tentative “project deployment slot” and one tentative “flyer slot” for a member of the project team to accompany and carry-out the research on the Spring 2024 flight (see definitions below). This means that several students may take the class together to work on a collaborative project, but we can only reserve one flyer seat per project. We will not choose who the ultimate flyer/operator is out of the team members -- this is up to the team and their advisors.

Final determination of confirmed project deployment slots and confirmed flyer slots will be decided upon completion of a rigorous, novel prototype and thorough documentation that can demonstrate nearly-complete readiness to fly by the CDR at the end of the class. Course instructors will make the final determination on what flies. We do not intend to admit more projects into the class than we have space for in the flight, so the course is therefore not a competition between teams. The reserved slots are there, but must be earned by high quality project completion.

Due to the physical constraints of the parabolic flight, we will only be able to admit a small total number of projects (and the final count depends on the physical dimensions of each proposed entry). Please see the course website for full details on admission criteria. The application will be open through Friday, September 15th, with final selections announced by Sept 18th, in preparation for the 2nd full class on September 19th. We strongly suggest applying as early as possible to give more time for review of your application, and because slots will be filled on a rolling basis. All applicants should attend the first class on September 12th.

Interested in deploying a research project, with no need to personally accompany it? Great! These types of projects are easier to admit into the class, as they don’t require an additional reserved “flyer” spot, which are in short supply. Projects applying in this category should be primarily passive (e.g. physiological sensors worn by participants or similar), and not require extensive efforts from other onboard flyers.

Not sure if you want to apply but are still interested and want to learn more? Please fill out this form so we can share the link to our first class: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsWc-GXEYZjvFI3FEAekq8jLWwtwESXfooN66dyuSpIrSrGg/viewform?usp=sf_link

How to apply:

Fill out this webform (linked via course website as well): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSez1mCRj3NjMtYNFxMavU_QIBuhsa-nrnnhsKer0fVHseTFqQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Terms:

Project team: Consists of one or more collaborators on the same project.

Project deployment slot: A reserved opportunity to deploy a single research experiment or project on the parabolic flight. Presumes a certain amount of floor layout space for hardware, room to operate, and floating space in the cabin.

Flyer slot: A reserved opportunity for one human to accompany and carry-out a research experiment or project on the parabolic flight as an operator.

Selection criteria:

• Project makes explicit use of the unique affordances of altered gravity (i.e., something you couldn't do on the ground)
• Project has a lifecycle or impact that will extend beyond just the 90 minute flight experience (i.e., there will be a research output, from data and academic paper to narrative storytelling to video documentation, that contributes to a continuing effort)
• Project must be rigorous and well-researched. Applications should cite relevant prior work and show how the project is novel and contributes meaningfully to its relevant field.
• Bonus points if the project addresses "Space Hacking", and ways to make space exploration open-access (i.e., does the project use an innovative low-cost method that could be replicated for more extensive deployment in space, does the project engage and empower a broader community with the question it explores, etc).

Course Requirements & Evaluation:

Caveats on Joining the Class and Spring 2024 Flight:

• Independent of approval from the course instructors, all students MUST have prior approval from their PI, or home department advisors, before being guaranteed a project deployment slot and/or flyer slot. Prospective approval from advisors must be submitted in writing before students will be admitted to the course, and approval will again be solicited in early 2024 in advance of the flight, to reconfirm. Class applicants must be prepared for their advisor to provide written approval, in the form of a signed expectations document (which includes willingness to meet documentation deadlines and training requirements for integration with the parabolic flight provider, as well as funding support - see next bullet), before the end of day September 25th, 2023, when the class list will be finalized.
• Project teams are expected to commit funding to support the flight slot (amount still TBD, but likely ~$10-15k). Note that this only partially covers the cost of the flight slot – SEI covers the majority. The final amount will be confirmed via an updated acceptance document signed in early 2024. You are welcome to still take the course if your advisor approves but cannot yet confirm funding, as we will confirm final funding details and award flight slots in January of 2024.
• Students named by their teams as the “flyer” must be physically healthy and able to fly, per the guidelines of our chartered parabolic flight provider. Sample medical forms will be distributed on the first day of class.  
• While the class is meant to prepare flyers and projects to pass the parabolic flight provider’s initial paperwork and final on-site TRR, if your research does not pass the safety review or is otherwise not approved for flight by the parabolic flight provider, MIT Space Exploration Initiative cannot guarantee a successful intervention on your behalf. It is ultimately the responsibility of each research team to prepare to pass the TRR.
• Projects that diverge materially from what was initially proposed and approved for entrance into the course will lose the Project Deployment Slot and Flyer Slot, unless prior approval for the change is received from the Course Instructors (this holds true in the post-course, pre-flight period as well).
• If, during the post-course, pre-flight period you for any reason believe your project will not be able to meet the requirements to fly, it is imperative that you discuss with the instructors as early as possible. We always have an extensive waitlist to fly and can typically move your project/flyer slot to a subsequent year provided you have demonstrated a good faith effort to have your project ready.
• Project teams and advisors must be prepared for the projects to be discussed publicly via MIT Media Lab and their home department (if different), MIT News, and outside press channels. This is not the venue for research that is still private and cannot be shared.  
• Project team understands that raw materials, travel funding, and project shipping costs are NOT covered by this Space Exploration Initiative opportunity. The MIT Space Exploration Initiative is covering a majority of the cost of the parabolic flight (flight ticket, ground presence and hangar rental space, on-site staff costs, etc.) but independent funding must be secured for the associated logistics costs to join the research campaign in Portsmouth, NH in Spring 2024 (these costs are usually small).
• Circumstances outside of our control may postpone that flight into the summer or even beyond (i.e. after graduation). We generally honor flight spots even for subsequently graduated/alumni members of the MIT community, if they completed the course. Please take this into consideration and plan accordingly.

Course Schedule:

A recitation will follow most lectures. Students can be exempted from attending recitation if they submit, by the night prior, a past assignment or portfolio project that shows mastery of that week’s topic. The recitation will provide an introduction to the skill that will be covered in the following week (paired with a problem set).

The schedule is based on previous years, and may change to accommodate the many guest lecturers coming to speak to the class. An updated syllabus will be distributed after any major changes.