Soda-can-sized space science

From 4 to 6 May GMV once more collaborated in the Spanish leg of the CanSat competition, the 2nd CanSat Caesaraugusta, attracting a total participation of nearly 100 high-school pupils.

What exactly is CanSat? Well, it’s a small-scale satellite prototype that has to meet some weight and cost prerequisites and pull off some mission targets set by ESA and by the teams themselves.

Hours of effort, nervousness and a lot of science were the order of the day in the Zaragoza auditorium called Auditorio de Etopia, the event venue. Pupils from the thirteen participating high schools presented their projects and the riveted audience then watched the launches of the mini-satellites and the readings made by each one in the descents.

The aim of this initiative is to nurture STEM skills amongst the youngsters and steer them towards careers in these fields. GMV sponsored the competition and one of its experts, Ángel Gavín, gave a chat about his view of working for an aerospace company.

The winning team this year was the San Sebastián school Axular Lizeoa, thus qualifying for the European Cansat competition to be held by ESA at the end of June in Isla de Santa María (Azores, Portugal).