What is NASA’s AstrOlympics?

Rio 2016 marks the first time the Olympics has been in South America. The inter-sport competition has now been held in every continent except Africa and Antarctica. But what about beyond the continents… In space, perhaps? NASA have created the AstrOlympics – linking the Olympics to space. Surely it’s not actually a sports competition in space? Keep reading to find out.

Space Olympics

So will there actually be an Olympics in space? Not quite – or at least not yet. The AstrOlympics project is a smart way of using the Olympic games to educate people about our planet and the universe around it. Throughout the project, NASA will be linking the processes in the Olympic games to universal patterns in a wider context. These links “between sport and space” will make science much more accessible to the general public.

Even though the two concepts seem ‘worlds apart’, the fundamental principles are the same – it’s about how matter moves. Whether it’s speed, distance, time, mass, rotation or pressure, NASA says it will explore an impressive range of physical properties.

Accessible

The AstrOlympics project has been developed by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory communications group and uses a variety of media:

“AstrOlympics provides brief explanations of the physical concepts and then compares examples from common every day experiences, Olympic events, and discoveries from space made with Chandra and other telescopes. For example, the speed section compares the world’s fastest sprinter to a typical speed limit on a highway to how fast the debris of an exploded star moves.”

Through an abundance of web content, videos and posters, the AstrOlympics will attempt to engage people by blending sport and space. The project will run through the Rio Olympic games, between 5^th-21^st August 2016.

Rio 2016

This is just one of the aspects setting the Rio Olympics apart from previous competitions. The unique culture and exciting events are a spectacular combination, but it hasn’t been without its problems. Scientists at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro have been testing Rio’s surrounding waters over the past two decades. They have warned of some issues with the lack of water, which could affect open water sports such as rowing and triathlon events. ‘Advanced Rio Lab Warns of Olympic Water Quality Danger’ looks at the scientists’ concerns about a lack of progress in the water quality, and how it could affect the athletes.