NASA Mission Madness

You don’t have to be a basketball fan to enjoy the intriguing matchups, story lines and buzzer beating drama surrounding the latest online celebration of NASA’s greatest achievements. Beginning March 9th, NASA fans will be able to view the lineup of 64 NASA missions, learn about mission goals, and predict which missions their fellow fans will vote for during this single elimination tournament. Voting for round one begins March 19th featuring 32 predetermined matchups. Each round consists of two days of online voting with the winning missions advancing in head to head competition. Fans will be able to vote for their favorite missions as many times as they like while polls are open, with the very first Mission Madness Championship Winner determined on April 8th, 2009.

How to Play

There are two ways to participate in the 2009 Mission Madness Tournament. First, visit the website, http://www.nasa.gov/missionmadness, from March 9th – 18th to learn which missions are competing head to head, print your bracket and make your predictions. You can print out as many brackets as you like to evaluate endless winning scenarios.

Second, return to the website and vote for your favorite missions during each round. You are allowed to vote for your favorite missions as many times as you like, so be sure to support your favorite missions to help them advance deep into the tournament. As voting is completed for each round, the winning missions advance allowing you to see how your predictions compare to all of the voters.

Schedule

Key Dates:

March 9th – 18th Brackets available on the web site with the head to head line-ups for each region.

March 19th - 20th Round 1 Voting

March 23rd – 24th Round 2 Voting

March 26th – 27th Sweet Sixteen Voting

March 30th – 31st Quarter Final Round Voting

April 2nd – 3rd Semi Final Round Voting

April 5th – 6th Final Round Voting

April 7th NASA EDGE names 2009 Mission Madness Winning Mission

NASA EDGE: 2009 Mission Madness Selection Show

After applying a series of both computer formulas and human metrics to the vast body of NASA Missions, Chris, Blair and Franklin reveal the opening round lineup of 64 competing missions for the 2009 Mission Madness Tournament. Sixteen individual missions competing in each of the four divisions (Nebula, Stellar, Galaxy and Horizon) provide key matchups between missions past, present and future.

NASA EDGE is joined by three prominent Mission Madness Analysts. Miles Obrien (former CNN Reporter), Melvin Ferebee (NASA Langley) and Keith Cowing (NASA WATCH) give their unique take on the how early rounds will shake out and which missions will remain competitive deep into the tournament. Further analysis is provided by NASA EDGE Facebook friends. The true final four will not be revealed until April 4th, but Chris, Blair and Franklin share their predictions for which missions they think will compete to be the 2009 Mission Madness Champion. Until April 8th, it’s up to you.