You’re living on a changing planet, monitored by orbiting spectrometers. You’ve been granted early access to an index of datasets from 5 emissions satellites; AIRS (NASA JPL), GOSAT (JAXA), MOPITT (NASA EOS), OCO-2 (NASA JPL), and TES (NASA JPL). Locate specific sources of greenhouse gases, identify changes over time, or create impactful visualizations.
You're sending astronauts aboard an orbiting spacecraft. In closed life support systems, control of pathogenic microorganisms is critical. You've been granted access to a cnc laser cutter so you can rapidly cut components from sheet material with high precision. Design a biofilter that can be packed flat and assembled in orbit, research and propose a culture to treat graywater and gas loaded with ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, or build a purification system to remove enough suspended particles that ultraviolet germicidal irradiation of the output is effective.
You're the boss. Invent an ingenious space-related concept and wow the room with your ability to both identify real-world problems and solve them.