So much of astronomy is based on sight — data visualizations, planetarium projectors, cool NASA photos. But, those ways of understanding the Universe aren’t accessible to everyone, particularly those with low or no vision. How can we open the skies to disabled enthusiasts and astronomers? And how can we open a new way for everyone to experience the universe with their other senses?

As part of my NSF grant's Broader Impacts work, I've focused on making tactile models, using real data, as a new way to explore the universe with our sense of touch. These models are often 3D printed, as this keeps things relatively low cost and easy to produce. Other projects (e.g. 3DAstro@STScI) have been working on this for years now as well. I also led a planetarium show as a grad student at UCLA that used existing resources from NASA to make the show accessible to blind and low vision audiences—you can read all about that experience here. I recommend printing these models with variable layer heights if possible to preserve detail.

As new materials are developed, I'll post them here to make them freely accessible to anyone interested!
Picture
Pluto:
This tactile model is made using real data, specifically the Digital Elevation Map (DEM) from the NASA New Horizons mission. A clearer heart image is manually added on top of this to help Pluto's most iconic feature (Sputnik Planitia) be discerned by touch. As New Horizons was a flyby mission, the back side of Pluto is lower resolution than the Sputnik Planitia side, and no data is available at the South Pole. This provides an opportunity to use the model to teach about different types of missions, and what they can do for science! Note: this model has not yet been tested with blind/low vision audiences.
Pluto .stl file [Download / Google Drive]

Venus:
​The Venus tactile model was created from two spheres split in half and spliced together; one half is the exaggerated surface topography from Magellan topographic maps of the surface, and the other shows the visible outer cloud layer from a NASA artist's rendition based on Mariner 10 imagery. The cloudy half of the tactile model also has a manual texture around the center to help convey the idea of the fluffy, somewhat banded cloud structure, similar to the aforementioned Jupiter models. Using this dual-sided design, an audience member would be able to experience both the cloud layer (i.e. what Venus looks like to a spacecraft flying by) and the rocky surface shaped by volcanism. 
Venus .stl file [Download / Google Drive]
Mercury:
​This model was created by wrapping the MESSENGER topographic map around a sphere, then smoothing the map and exaggerating the elevation of features to make them easier to feel. The goal of the Mercury tactile model is to illustrate how barren, rocky, and thoroughly cratered the planet is, somewhat similar to Earth's moon.
Mercury .stl file [Download / Google Drive]
Saturn:
​This model is somewhat idealized, with a subtle surface texture created from Bjorn Jonsson's planetary maps, which use Cassini and Voyager 2 data. The most noticeable feature on the tactile Saturn---other than its rings---is the polar hexagon, which is additionally exaggerated to make it noticeable to a user. The rings are also highly simplified and not to scale, although they do include a gap to illustrate the idea of the Cassini division. 
Saturn .stl file [Download / Google Drive]
Neptune:
​The Neptune tactile model was, like Saturn, created from Bjorn Jonsson's planetary maps; these maps for Neptune were created from Voyager 2 data, as well as some artistic rendering due to the lack of full global coverage from the spacecraft's flyby. Two textured spots (one large and one small) were added to represent Neptune's Great Dark Spot and Small Dark Spot as seen by Voyager 2.
Neptune .stl file [Download / Google Drive]