The Catalan final of the CanSat competition, organised by the European Space Agency, arrives with the participation of more than 150 students

The Catalan final of the CanSat competition will take place on 25 April at Lleida–Alguaire Airport, with the participation of 150 students. The competition involves the design, construction and launch of small satellites and is organised by the Escola Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech.

The European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) of the European Space Agency organises the CanSat competition every year across Europe, a challenge that involves the design, construction and launch of small satellites about the size of a soft drinks can. The Catalan qualifying phase is organised by the Escola Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech, with the support of the Secretariat for Digital Policies of the Department of Business and Labour, as part of the Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy. The CanSat competition also involves collaboration from the Department of Education and Vocational Training of the Government of Catalonia, the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC), and Lleida–Alguaire Airport.

CanSat in Catalonia has established itself as one of the country’s major scientific and technological events aimed at young people. Following the preliminary selection of submitted projects, 30 teams will take part in the final launch day, of which 18 will be launched inside three rockets and compete for victory. The remaining teams will take part from a light aircraft in a non-competitive launch. In total, more than 150 students from secondary education, sixth form and vocational training, supported by their teachers, will participate in the launch day.

The Catalan final will take place on 25 April at 11:00 and 12:15 at Lleida–Alguaire Airport. Throughout the academic year, the students have dedicated their talent to designing and building small satellites that integrate telemetry, sensors and data transmitters, with a size small enough to fit inside a soft drinks can, in an event aimed at fostering vocations in space, technology and STEM disciplines among young people.

As explained by David González, Deputy Director of the Escola Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa and CanSat coordinator in Catalonia, “the competition is both a technological and scientific challenge. In fact, it is not only about launching the satellite and ensuring it returns safely to Earth. The CanSats built by students must be capable of taking measurements, such as air temperature or atmospheric pressure, and carrying out a scientific mission. Participants must analyse and interpret the results obtained in a critical way. Therefore, we are talking about going beyond simply applying in practice the knowledge they have learned in class,” González states.

The 18 finalist teams will present their results on 29 April at the Escola Superior d’Enginyeria Industrial, Aeroespacial i Audiovisual de Terrassa at 16:30. On that same day, the winner will be selected, who will represent Catalonia in the national CanSat phase, from which the Spanish representative will be chosen to take part in the European final, which will be held in June.