Space Village and NASA soar at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017
At SVCC, space enthusiasts are treated to exhibits and demos from the likes of NASA, Virgin Galactic and the SETI Institute, honoring the Valley's scientific roots.
Welcome to Space Village
The main show floor featured Silicon Valley Comic-Con's Space Village, where attendees could explore displays on topics ranging from laser communication to astrobiology.
Virgin Galactic
Right through the front entrance to the main show floor was a model Virgin Galactic commercial spacecraft for space tourists. Hopefully we'll see some more interactive models at future SVCCs.
NASA's showcase exhibit
NASA came out in full force for SVCC, with several educational displays.
Fred the Bone head, exhibitor staff
Poor Fred got emaciated after waiting forever in line to get autographs from the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast.
Tiny model of Curiosity
Curiosity is a NASA rover, deployed to Mars to determine whether the planet was ever habitable for microbial life.
Kepler and K2 missions
An informational booth about NASA's Kepler and K2 missions. Kepler is a space observatory whose objective was to locate Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of sun-like stars....
Kepler and K2 missions
... and it found quite a few of them!
Underground Engine
In this simulation we can see particles that are evolving on their own inside this program. You can interact with them with your hands, the one on the left pushes the particles away and the one on the right attracts them.
The moon is made of "cheese!"
A helicopter add-on for Mars rovers
As amazing as the photos from Mars rovers have been, their vision is rather limited for navigation. NASA Ames and the Jet Propulsion Lab are working on a helicopter that could scout ahead, helping the rovers navigate unpredictable terrain. No more rolling all the way to a cliff edge just to turn around.
"Tech your parents grew up with"
At the Kids' Steam Lab, one of the more popular displays was NASA's collection of vintage tech.
YouTube, version 1
Bicep-strengthening selfie camera
Bicep-strengthening selfie camera
Excuse me, which way to the gun show?
Grandpa's camcorder
Nothing says, "Look, science!" like a plasma ball.
SVCC x March for Science
On Saturday, SVCC coincided with the worldwide March for Science, and some decided to participate in both. Or maybe they're just cosplaying as protesters?