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The 2nd Mission Idea Contest

overview requirements schedule application frequently asked questions Contact
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Frequently Asked Question

Index

Information
Application
AGI Sponsorship
Requirements
Intellectual Property
Evaluation and Award
Final Presentation
Visa

Information

Q. Where can I get more information about the contest?
A. Please contact the regional coordinator in your region.
If you cannot find coordinator in your region, email to secretariat. Email: info(at)spacemic.net
The reference documents and presentations regarding the contest are also available.

Application

Q. Can I submit more than one proposal?
A. Yes.

Q. How can I submit my Proposal?
A. Please use abstract template and submit it in PDF format and WORD file (limit 5 pages, single spaced, 11 pt font, in English) through online-submission page (available from ).
application template for category 1 Application template for Category 1 (updated on)
application template for category 2 Application templatefor Category 2 (updated on)

Q. Q: How can I apply?
A. You can submit your application online from the Mission Idea Contest Portal Site. The basic steps are described below and more details can be found in the manual Application Manual.
  1. Access the portal site www.spacemic.net.
  2. Press the Application tab and then press Register.
  3. Input the required information including user name and password for your account. Then press Submit.
  4. You will receive email shortly to activate your account.
  5. After activation of your account go again to the portal site. Press application tab and select Login.
  6. After login select “Add New Idea” from the menu.
  7. Write the required information, upload the abstract PDF file and follow the instruction.
  8. Logout.

Q. Is there any condition(s) required to apply in this contest?
A. No.

Q. How large can one team be?
A. As large as you like.

Q. Is their special format that I have to follow to write down my Proposal?

Q. Can we mail the design packet to you, instead of submitting online?
A. No, but if you found difficulties to use submitting online, please notify us (info (at) spacemic.net). Also, Proposal sent by e-mail will not be accepted as online submission. The online submission system, that will be open from March in 2012, will give you a confirmation and application number for any future inquires.

Q: Is it possible to submit to two categories with one idea?
YES, but please change the title to avoid confusion.

Q: Is it possible to submit an idea that I submitted to other contest?
YES

Q: Will the abstract that I submit be published on the web?
YES unless you check the box to indicate that you wish to remain it confidential. The option is not recommended, but we will respect your intention if you truly need to keep it confidential. Selected abstracts will be published on the final presentation, and also published on the website.

AGI Sponsorship

Q. We are not university, but non-profit purely research organization. Can we apply to the AGI sponsorship?
A. No, AGI will accept only university applicants.

Q. Can a university in any countries apply to the AGI sponsorship?
A. AGI needs to follow law and rules in USA. The AGI suite of products which the students will be using is subject to Export Administration Regulations (EAR) which prohibit transmission (directly or indirectly) of these products to any country or entity designated as Restricted, Denied, Embargoed, or Prohibited (see http://www.bis.doc.gov for the latest list of such countries or entities).

Requirements

Q. In category 2, I know a company who provides less expensive satellite bus and ground station. May I apply the price that the company provides?
A. No. Please use the cost model provided by us.

Q. We want to use stratosphere platforms, not satellites. Is it OK?
A. No.

Q. When we examine technical feasibility, which should we investigate, current technology or future possible technology?
A. Reviewer will judge the feasibility with realistic viewpoints.

Q. As you know now we have the UN recommendation to have de-orbiting systems on board new spacecrafts. Would it be applicable to MIC2 designs?
A. It would be regarded as a well-thought design feature, but would not be included specifically in the contest evaluation check list.

Intellectual Property

Q. What is the policy on Intellectual Property Rights in the contest? Is there any clear guideline from organizers?
A. We don't think we can be responsible for protecting IP - it is the responsibility of the contestants. Applicants should protect their IP before they make it public or they should only talk of concepts that are open-source. It is the same as for publishing technical and marketing papers at conferences. The authors need to be aware of the IP risks and constrain their publications accordingly.

Evaluation and Award

Q. What are the criteria to pass the first stage and become finalists?

A. To convince the judges of the innovation and practicality of the proposed project. Your proposal will be evaluated and scored (out of 100 points) with the following guideline among reviewers.

Category 1 (Mission Idea and Satellite Design)

  • Originality (50 points)
    • Novel mission concept not yet realized or proposed, or a new implementation of an existing capability or service (25)
    • Impact on society (25)
  • Feasibility (50 points)
    • Technical (20)
    • Programmatic (cost estimate, development schedule, infrastructure requirements) (15)
    • Operational (description of ground segment and communications architecture, e.g., planned use of existing infrastructure) (15)

Category 2 (Mission Idea and Business Model)

  • Impact on society and environment (40)
  • Business model structure (5W2H: who, to whom, what, when, where, how, how much). (15)
  • Business feasibility (15)
  • Logistical feasibility based upon the cost model provided by the organizer. (15)
  • Risk Analysis (15)
Q. When will the finalists be announced?
A. In the beginning of .

Q. How much support is allocated per team?
A. We will cover one or two person’s travel fees to Japan (economy class, discount ticket) and accommodation during your staying for attending the 4th Nano-satellite symposium. Please note that each finalist team is asked to concurrently submit a full paper. Without the full paper submission, travel fees will not be supported.

Q. Will the finalists be supported for accommodation?
A. Yes, accommodation will be arranged by us for an adequate period to attend the 4th nano-satellite symposium.

Q. Will the finalists living in Japan be supported for their domestic transportation and accommodation?
A. Yes.

Q. Who is eligible for applying to Student Prize?
A. “Student” is defined as a student who registered full time course in a recognized academic organization and whose age is 35 years old or less.
A student group or University team is defined as “team that involves a significant number of students." The group/team composition must comprise more than 50% students and the paper must be written by the students and the presentation must be made by students.


Final Presentation

Q. How long is the presentation per team?
A. It depends on how many teams will be selected (ranging from 5 to 10 teams). We will let you know it when you are selected as finalist.

Q. How will you decide the order of the finalists' presentation?
A. By random selection.

Q. Can I download a final paper template?
A. Yes. Please download the final paper template (coming soon).

Q. Can we obtain the schedule of the final presentations of the contest?
A. It is available here .

Q. Can we watch the presentations online?
A. Yes, the presentations will be broadcasted via USTREAM on Oct 10, 2012.


Visa

Q. We need visa to go to Japan. If we are selected as finalists, can you financially support our visa applications?
A. No. Visa application is basically your responsibility. You need to go to the embassy and go through the application process. In most cases, you will be required to purchase air ticket before applying visa. Therefore we will arrange the air ticket for the person(s) who will make presentation in Japan.

Q. How many visa applications can you support?
A. We will not support visa application financially, but we will support it sending invitation letter and other documents required by the embassy to finalist team members. As far as you can manage travel cost, we can support visa application for all finalist team members.

Q. In our country, it takes more than 3 months to issue visa. If we get an official invitation letter from you in January, it'd be too late for our visa application to go to Japan. Can we get to know whether we are selected as finalists in advance so that we can go ahead and obtain visa in time?
A. The other route to speed up the visa process is to express your willingness to the authorities (Japanese embassy) that you want attend the 4th nano-satellite symposium on your own cost 3 months prior to the symposium and we can help you by sending invitation letter for this objective. In case that your proposal will be a wining proposal we can reimburse the cost of travel.

Contact: info(at)spacemic.net
( Replace (at) with @ )

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