NASA Space Apps Challenge Ignored (Again) By NASA

Keith’s note: The 2022 Global winners of the 2022 NASA International Space Apps Challenge were announced today. You can read about it but only outside of NASA at the Space Apps website. There was mention many days in advance by the NASA International Space Apps Challenge Twitter account @SpaceApps as well as by the various SpaceApps participants around the world. But that’s more or less all the visibility that was given for this event – an activity that is an impressive demonstration of the truly global soft power projection that NASA is capable of inspiring. There was no mention of this event at NASA.gov before or after the annoncement today. No NASA media advisory was sent out, nor was any press release posted by PAO anywhere within the NASA web universe. Take a look below at how pervasive the ambivalence about this amazing NASA activity was at NASA today:

This Space Apps activity is paid for by the Earth Science folks at NASA’s Science Mission directorate yet there is no mention at the Earth science page or at the SMD website, or the SMD science news page, citizen science page, and no mention of the web event at the SMD ScienceAtNASA page. However, NASA SMD AA Thomas Zurbuchen did tweet about it in advance but he seems to have been the only one at NASA – senior management or otherwise – who was interested enough in the SpaceApps event to make sure people knew it was happening today

No mention of the event or anything whatsoever at was made NASA’s Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) website. Of course, that’s not all that surprising since this organization is totally unconcerned about its public facing website ad seem to ignore 98% of all of the International and Interagency Relations that NASA has under way. You’d think that the obvious soft power projection capability of this event woudl interest the OIIR folks. Guess again.

The NASA STEM education folks ignored this activity as well. There is no mention anywhere on their website. The NASA STEM EXPRESS newsletter that went out today made no mention either. Apparently the NASA education folks have little interest in education outside of their sandbox.

NASA eventually tweeted something as well – but only after the event. But again, if you did not see that one tweet – and without website mention, media announcements, etc. you probably missed it altogether. Unless NASA puts something online or in email to media and educators, this event will quickly fade away – again.

I hear all this happy talk from the Administration along thematic lines that would make one think that NASA would be tripping over themsleves to give this sort activity the widest possible visibility. Alas, NASA rarely tells anyone that they are doing cool stuff like this. It is hard to tell if NASA does not care if people know – or if they do not know how to tell people – or if they are just too damn lazy to lift a finger to make it happen. Probably a combination of all three. And we are all suffer a loss as a result of the chronic incompetence that seems to prevail within NASA In situations like this.

This is not the first time NAS Ahas choked when it should have roared when it comes to Space Apps, soft power projection, and global brand enhancement – here’s a small selection:

• Once Again NASA Ignores Its Own Potent Soft Power Tools (2022)
• Soft Power: NASA Soars – And Crashes – On The Same Day (2022)
• NASA Builds A Global Soft Power Capability And Then Ignores It (2021)
• How NASA Uses DIME/Soft Power To Extend A Global Reach (Update) (2021)
• OSTP Director Speaks About America’s Potential Soft Power (2021)
• Space Apps: NASA Soft Power With An Under Appreciated – Untapped Global Potential (2020)
• Space Apps Enlists A Global Audience – As Only NASA Can (2020)
• NASA Space Apps Challenge: An Underutilized Tool For Global Reach (2020)
• International Space Apps Challenge: Success and Missed Opportunity (2012)