Once again, secondary school students get closer to space with the Youth and Science programme

This summer, the ‘Small satellites to change the world‘ project has once again immersed young students in the world of space. The initiative, which is part of the ‘Youth and Science’ programme to promote scientific vocations run by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, provides 10 secondary school students every year with a global vision of the opportunities offered by this sector and the various applications of nanosatellites, alongside the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC). 

Between 22 June and 4 July, the project offered a range of training sessions, educational workshops, talks and activities at the MónNatura Pirineus centre, located in Lleida.

The programme also has the support of the GoSTEM association, as well as other associations and entities such as the UPC Space Program. The initiative is part of the Catalonia Space 2030 Strategy, promoted by the Government of Catalonia.

The project is structured into three blocks. The first of these offers an introduction to the space sector, bringing participants closer to the main lines of research and the applications of these technologies, as well as training them in key aspects of fields as diverse as Earth observation, space law, orbital mechanics, rocketry and satellite navigation systems (GNSS), among others.

The second block focuses on designing, building, testing and launching an ‘analogous’ nanosatellite mission (simulations of missions under real conditions). In this phase, participants apply the knowledge acquired to launch a high-altitude balloon (HAB) with all its corresponding subsystems.

Finally, participants analyse the flight data collected by the probe to draw conclusions and check the validity of the hypotheses proposed before the launch.