The CanSat Design Challenge invites teams of Canadian secondary-school students to design and build a "CanSat" - a small psuedo-satellite which is the size of a can of pop.
There are two categories for participation: Beginner and Advanced. In the Beginner category, we supply you with a free CanSat kit. With some simple tools, you put it together and we will drop it from a drone from a height of about 120m. The CanSat will conduct its experiments as it parachutes to the ground, and saves all of the data on-board on a memory card.
In the Advanced category, teams travel to Lethbridge, Alberta in the Spring in order to have their CanSats launched by rocket up to a height of at least 1km. The CanSats must transmit their data to the ground as they descend. And, the winning team is invited to represent Canada at an international CanSat conference hosted by the European Space Agency, in the Netherlands.
The CanSat has a required science mission to collect air pressure and temperature data (and maybe even humidity), and you get to choose a secondary experiment to include. Past secondary experiments have included gas/pollution sensors, accelerometers, cameras, and even a deployable drone.
Are you up for the Challenge? The CanSat Design Challenge is a great way to learn a bit about science, engineering, electronics, programming, teamwork, and presentation skills. It is an excellent experience to help you into post-secondary STEM education!
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