Welcome to The International Space Apps Challenge - 2012

Greetings from the International Space Station. I'm Dan Burbank, commander of Expedition 30. Welcome to the International Space Apps Challenge. I'm Flight Engineer Don Pettit. Right now, Dan and I are orbiting more than 220 miles above the surface of the earth. Many nations have worked together to create this amazing scientific laboratory that we live and work in every day. Right now you are among many people all around the world, collaborating to improve life on Earth and advance all of us beyond Earth orbit in the cause of space exploration. Innovative thinking sparks huge advances for space flight. We're excited about what you are doing at the Apps Challenge. Please join us in creating, inventing, building and making our future. Welcome to the Space Apps Challenge from the NASA McMurdo ground station located on Ross Island, Antarctica. I'm Clay Ellis, and I operate one of several NASA's Near Earth Network Satellite Tracking Stations that provides telemetry, tracking, and commanding services to a diverse international customer base. This includes the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European Space Agency, the Japanese Space Agency, and many other scientific and engineering research groups. These missions, such as the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) require daily and sometimes hourly contacts in various orbits, including low-Earth orbit, Geosynchronous Earth Orbit, and lunar orbit. The McMurdo Ground Station has been in continuous operation since 1995, and we are excited to contribute to mankind's expanding knowledge of the Earth and the universe. Best wishes, and we look forward to learning about the innovative results of the Space Apps Challenge. Hi, I'm NASA Astronaut Ron Garan, and I also want to welcome you to the International Space Apps Challenge. I spent about half of 2011 onboard the International Space Station and I was really impressed with this example of collaboration that the International Space Station represents. We have 15 nations, all working together to construct this incredible research facility in orbit. If we can do that in space, imagine what we can do by working together to solve the problems facing our planet. So I'm really excited that we're on board here with the International Space Apps Challenge. I think that we can do a tremendous amount of good. We're all in this together, and the only way we're going to solve the problems facing our planet, is together. So, thank you for volunteering your time. Thank you for being part of this amazing event, and I'm really excited to see the developments that are going to come from this. I'm really exited to see the difference that you are all going to make in the lives of many, many people around the world. Thank you. Hi everyone, I am Kristen Painting. I am the project manager for the International Space Apps Challenge and I'm coming to you from Houston, Texas here at the Johnson Space Center. Before I worked for the NASA Open Government Team I worked as an instructor in the International Space Station Program. One of the most interesting things about that role that I found was just seeing how many people it takes to make the space station possible. So while you only saw two people up on board right now, there's a whole team of people on the ground supporting them and making everything happen and I think that we're doing something really similar here with the International Space Apps Challenge. So take a minute right now before we start and look around the room at the people around you and think about that it's not just these people that you can see. There are people in rooms in cities and countries all around the world doing the same thing that you're doing right now, and we really encourage you to collaborate to come up with the best possible answers to these challenges. I'm really excited about what can come from this International Space Apps Challenge. It's such a great demonstration of global collaboration. So thank you so much for participating, good luck with all of your work, and have fun! We are so excited that you've joined us today for the International Space Apps Challenge in 25 cities around the world. The International Space Apps Challenge is part of the larger Open Government Partnership, a global collaboration of 55 nations committed to promoting the values of transparency participation, and collaboration between governments and citizens around the world. This is your opportunity to help contribute to space exploration, as well as solve social needs. The unique challenges that NASA faces in spaceflight often result in solutions to issues we see every day here on Earth. The development of these solutions can be expedited when leveraging the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit, of people like you, from outside government institutions. This event is a tangible acknowledgement that the world's challenges are not one nation's alone, and this is especially true for expanding the technology and reach of the human race. We're excited to see what you can develop this weekend, and we look forward to the results.