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Since Lancing College’s team reached the CanSat National Finals last year, excitement and interest has built in the student body and we have three teams entering the competition this year.
The competition is run by the European Space Agency and provides pupils with the opportunity to have practical experience working on a small-scale space project. Competing teams must build a satellite the size of a coke can which is fired in a rocket to 1000 feet and descends safely on a parachute (of their design) whilst transmitting data for a mission of their choosing. The first regional launch will take place in March.
Every participating CanSat team will have to accomplish two missions: a mandatory primary mission to transmit and collect air temperature and pressure data at least once a second by radio communication; and a secondary mission that is left entirely to the team’s creativity and ambitions.
Here our three teams tell you more about their projects:
SpaceEx
Fourth Form Pupils:
George
John H
Samuel B
Hugo G
Rafferty CJ
Maddy L
"We are a team of six Fourth Form pupils and our CanSat project aims to gather data about uninhabited regions to aid future exploration on Earth and possibly across the Universe. Our primary mission is to collect essential information about unknown areas. This data could be vital for space exploration, as a simple probe like ours, when deployed on an unknown planet, could provide key details to determine if the planet is habitable. Our CanSat will have sensors to measure pressure, temperature, and altitude.
Our secondary mission focuses on a practical application relevant to current and future exploration scenarios. Imagine adventurers exploring an unfamiliar land, whether on Earth or another colonized planet. Isolated from other resources, they might need supplies like food, fuel, or oxygen dropped from orbital satellites. Our probe, once deployed, will collect precise GPS data, giving us accurate information about the turbulence and wind force in the area. This data will help us map the probe’s descent, providing valuable information for supply drops to ensure they land precisely on target.
Lancing Space Agency
Fifth Form and Lower Sixth Pupils:
Jethro S
Euan C
Tudor P
Mingli J
Jim X
Mochi L
"Our CanSat team is formed of both Fifth Form and Lower Sixth pupils. Our satellite will measure the following parameters: temperature, air pressure and gravitational field strength. We will use the BMP 388 to measure these parameters as this chip has all the primary mission in one sensor, we will also need to include an accelerometer such as the LIS3DH triple axis accelerometer, as it is well supported for the Arduino environment.
This year we are expanding our data processing capabilities at the ground station where we will use a raspberry pi to produce live graphs against other data or time. The samples will be interpreted via a custom python code that will transform it into useful, readable results. By using a CSV file, we should be able to create a modular system to enable us to plot different graphs of whatever data we want to measure.
Our secondary mission aims to demonstrate a scalable two-way transmission system to allow for the simultaneous control of an array of CanSats, to allow for the exploration of an entire planet simultaneously. This will include two-way communication between the CanSat(s) and the ground station. We will try to sample as much data as possible to get the best and most complete overview. This is a big technical challenge that we didn’t see any other team attempt last year."
Lancing Skylink
Lower Sixth Pupils:
Isaac L
Amaan I
Rio L
Ronit S
Eddie A
Laura K
"We are a group of ambitious Sixth Form pupils aiming to reach the national finals in the European Space Agency's CanSat 2024 competition. Our project, named Lancing-Skylink after Starlink, is based on the idea that multiple CanSat models can exchange data and trigger events over distances in the sky. This can be practically applied as temporary communication relays in areas where traditional infrastructure is damaged or non-existent, providing communication during natural disasters in remote locations in a cost-effective and scalable way.
Our mission focuses on measuring air-temperature, pressure and altitude, using advanced technology, complemented by acceleration data. We also have a camera transmitting live footage via a 5.8GHz frequency. This information will be sent live from the CanSat model, 500 meters in the air, to the ground and displayed on a laptop, allowing us to monitor the flight in real-time. Additionally, we will be achieving two-way communication with the CanSat using a single aerial. We'll be able to send commands to trigger various onboard components like fins for stabilisation, a loud buzzer to find it once it lands and the ability to switch the camera on and off. "