The Spacekind Foundation

USE THE EXCITEMENT AND INSPIRATION OF SPACE AS A CATALYST FOR EDUCATING AND DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS.

ASTROACCESS: ASTROACCESS IS A PROJECT DEDICATED TO ADVANCING DISABILITY INCLUSION IN SPACE EXPLORATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANKIND. AFTER A SUCCESSFUL MISSION IN 2021, A SMALLER GROUP OF ASTROACCESS AMBASSADORS FLEW WITH THE AURELIA INSTITUTE IN MAY 2022 AS A PART OF A MIXED-RESEARCH PAYLOAD FLIGHT. TWO ADDITIONAL ASTROACCESS AMBASSADORS FLEW WITH ANOTHER MIXED-RESEARCH FLIGHT CAMPAIGN WITH ZERO-G IN NOVEMBER 2022. A SECOND FULLY-DEDICATED PARABOLIC FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED FROM HOUSTON, TX IN DECEMBER 2022. AMBASSADORS AND VOLUNTEERS PREPARED NUMEROUS EXPERIMENTS AND DEMONSTRATION TASKS, RIGOROUSLY APPLYING LESSONS-LEARNED FROM THE PREVIOUS FLIGHTS. COLLABORATORS INCLUDED SCIACCESS, INC., AN INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFIT DEDICATED TO ADVANCING DISABILITY INCLUSION IN STEM.

YURI'S NIGHT: THE GLOBAL WEBCAST WAS A 4-HOUR LIVE ONLINE EVENT FEATURING A VARIETY OF LIVE AND PRE-RECORDED SEGMENTS. WE CREATED A VIRTUAL WORLD ENVIRONMENT TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION DURING AND AFTER THE EVENT. NEARLY 300 TICKETS WERE SOLD TO THE SHOW IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS SPONSORS, GUESTS, AND VOLUNTEERS. THE BAND OK GO RECEIVED THE SPIRIT OF YURI'S NIGHT AWARD FOR THEIR EDUCATIONAL WORK ALONGSIDE THEIR MUSIC VIDEOS--INCLUDING ONE FILMED DURING PARABOLIC FLIGHT! PHYSICIST AND ROCK LEGEND BRIAN MAY SENT IN A VIDEO TO INTRODUCE THE EVENT. GUESTS INCLUDED SIR RICHARD BRANSON, NASA ASTRONAUT LELAND MELVIN, SECOND-GENERATION ASTRONAUT RICHARD GARRIOTT, ESA ASTRONAUT LUCA PARMITANO, AND MORE! CONVERSATIONS IN THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT CONTINUED FOR 10+ HOURS WITH PEOPLE CONNECTING TO SHARE THEIR PASSIONS. THE EVENT ALSO LED INTO AN ONLINE AUCTION TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE COSMIC ODYSSEY SCHOLARSHIP.

ZG4STEM: THE ZG4STEM FOUNDATION IS DEDICATED TO INSPIRING STUDENTS TO PURSUE STEM CAREERS. IN 2022, A DIRECTED DONATION ENABLED AN INAUGURAL PARABOLIC FLIGHT WITH ZERO-G. PARTICIPANTS INCLUDED TEACHERS AND STUDENTS FROM THE LOCAL MIAMI AREA. SISTERS, STUDENTS, AND CO-AUTHORS OF A STEM STORY BOOK FOR YOUNG BLACK GIRLS ALSO FLEW TO PROMOTE THEIR STORY OF PERSEVERANCE. MENTORS ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE FLIGHT INCLUDING A RECENT GRADUATE THAT IS NOW AN ENGINEER AT A SPACE LAUNCH COMPANY.

YNLA2022: YURI'S NIGHT LA 2022 IS AN ANNUAL PUBLIC OUTREACH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT HELD UNDER SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOR AT THE CALIFORNIA SCIENCE CENTER IN LA. OVER 200 VOLUNTEERS, SPEAKERS, AND VENDORS SUPPORT AN EVENT FOR 1300 ATTENDEES OVER A SINGLE EVENING. IN 2022, THE ALL-CIVILIAN CREW OF INSPIRATION4 WAS HONORED WITH THE SPIRIT OF YURI'S NIGHT AWARD FOR THEIR WORK ENGAGING THE PUBLIC IN THEIR MISSION. GEOLOGIST, ARTIST, AND ASTRONAUT DR. SIAN PROCTOR GAVE THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS ALONG WITH HER OWN JEDI AWARD TO PROMOTE JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY. PARTICIPANTS AND SUPPORTERS INCLUDED NUMEROUS LOCAL AEROSPACE COMPANIES ALONG WITH MUSICAL GUESTS, ARTISTS, AND COMMUNITY GROUPS. THE EVENT ALSO GENERATED INTEREST AND FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE COSMIC ODYSSEY SCHOLARSHIP.