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Touch the Cosmos: A 3D Printed Experience

Touch the Cosmos: A 3D Printed Experience


The NASA Universe of Learning program’s Accessible Learning Resources team, drawing upon expertise and software written by blind observational astronomer Dr. Nic Bonne, developed capabilities for and created a new series of 3D printable tactile plates. This project scales up a previous 3D model project co-created with Blind/Visually Impaired (BVI) audiences. It expedites the process of producing tactile materials using a relief map technique to provide sustained and rapid-response accessibility for NASA astrophysics image releases and to respond to BVI feedback from the National Federation of the Blind evaluation for “more 3D prints”. The team successfully tested products with BVI users and developed six 3D printable plates for recently released astrophysics images of Sagittarius A*, Galactic Center, SNR G292, and quasar H1821+643. The individual files for the plates can be downloaded and 3D-printed for learners to touch at https://chandra.si.edu/tactile/3d_plates.html

Contributors and Developers: Dr. Nic Bonne, blind observational astronomer (UK), Dr. Kimberly Arcand, CXC visualization scientist, and April Jubett, CXC 3D modeling/printing expert.

NASA’s Universe of Learning is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AC65A and is part of NASA's Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about NASA’s Universe of Learning: https://https://science.nasa.gov/science-activation-team/universe-of-learning

This tactile plate depicts a close-up area surrounding the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, as a physical relief map based on the intensity of the X-ray data captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Sagittarius A*, near the center, is marked with an arrow. The file for this plate can be downloaded and 3D-printed for learners to touch.
This tactile plate depicts a close-up area surrounding the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*, as a physical relief map based on the intensity of the X-ray data captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Sagittarius A*, near the center, is marked with an arrow. The file for this plate can be downloaded and 3D-printed for learners to touch.

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Last Updated
Jul 23, 2023
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NASA Science Editorial Team

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