A team from Limerick have taken second prize in an out-of-this-world competition – literally. The students from Laurel Hill Secondary School built a mini-satellite to fit in a soft drink can and carry out scientific experiments at high altitude.
The annual CanSat competition is organised by the European Space Agency, and is part of its initiative to inspire young people to follow a career in science or engineering.
A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of an ordinary soft drink can. The team from Laurel Hill used their CanSat to measure air temperature, air pressure and the levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the air, in order to assess levels of pollution in the atmosphere.
Sensors and fibre optics
The team from Laurel Hill at the rocket range
It wasn’t all plain sailing though. As their team notes explain, “We ordered a CO2 sensor which unfortunately came without a data sheet.
“So we got in touch with Sinead O’Keeffe from the University of Limerick who advised us to use optical fibres to measure the light intensity one kilometre in the atmosphere and from that we can detect whether there is a lot of gas in the atmosphere due to light absorption.
“We did a lot of research for optical fibres and carried out many experiments once they were connected to our CanSat. These experiments were vital in our preparations as it made us familiar with the optical fibres.
“Without the help of John Nelson, Hugh O’Brien and Sinead O’Keeffe from University of Limerick our team would have been lost. They have been great mentors and their help has been invaluable to us.”
The team, named Truailliú, consisted of Roisin Aherne, Orla O’Brien, Derval McCauley, Meave Gilligan, Genevieve McPhilemy, Gillian Gavin, Rachel Ryan and Sarah McNamara.
Ann Fitzpatrick, ESERO (European Space Education Resource Office) manager, said: “The competition is a great way to encourage students to become more actively involved in science and in particular physics. The students have illustrated great creativity and innovation in this project.”
Learn more
Check out the videos and posts on the team’s blog
Read more about the CanSat competition
