Space exploration has changed how we view ourselves and our place in the known universe. None-the-less, ever since the 1969 exploration of the moon, the most significant space thing most of the public has been able to do is fund research that generates fascinating photos that make great screen savers. Ariel Waldman aims to involve interested people of all in open collaboration, active contribution, and hacking space observation, which she refers to as disruptive accessibility.
Ariel believes contributing to interstellar discovery through analysis, observation, and tinkering interactively allows us find meaning in the huge amounts of data that experts collect, and this will excite future generations. She mentions several projects, such as GalaxyZoo, which involve the public beyond just admiring the results that elite experts allow us to see. Waldman anticipates a reemergence of citizen science over the long term. Her site, Spacehack.org, is a directory of websites that welcome participation of people worldwide for discovery through collaboration.
Ariel Waldman is an open science strategist, interaction designer and the founder of Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration. She currently works at Institute For The Future, a non-profit founded by early internet pioneers and ARPANET researchers. Recently, she founded Science Hack Day SF, an event that brings together scientists, technologists, designers and people with good ideas to see what they can create in a weekend.
Additionally, she sits on the advisory board for the SETI Institute‘s science radio show Big Picture Science, is a contributor to the book State of the eUnion: Government 2.0 and Onwards, and is the founder of CupcakeCamp. In 2008, she was named one of the top 50 most influential individuals in Silicon Valley. Previously, she was a CoLab Program Coordinator at NASA, a Digital Anthropologist at VML (a WPP agency), and a sci-fi movie gadget columnist for Engadget.
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