ASGARD Balloons for space education ASGARD V DIY astronautics for students Think of a science experiment, build and fly it on a stratospheric balloon Pieter Mestdagh (ESERO Belgium) Erik de Schrijver (Sint-Pieterscollege jette) On April 28th 2016, it will happen again. Ten teams of pupils and their teachers are preparing their experiments for a flight to the upper atmosphere. Tension is rising as the hour of the launch approaches. Erik de Schrijver knows this. He is a science teacher at Sint-Pieterscollege in Jette (Brussels) and founder of this space education project. For this sixth edition, he is again cooperating with ESERO, the national office of ESA (European Space Agency) in charge of promoting space education. The balloon is a gift from the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) and the Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence (STCE). tropopause. It is capped by the stratosphere, wherein the temperature rises again, due to The atmospheric layer we live in, with its the absorption of solar UV radiation in the clouds, precipitation and winds is called the ozone layer. Asgard weather balloons reach troposphere. Depending on latitude and altitudes of 30 to 35kms, deep within the season, its upper limit varies from 7 to 18 km stratosphere, which is why these above sea level. Normal Once arrived in the balloons are also referred to as commercial air traffic takes stratosphere, you see a stratospheric balloons. place in this layer. Within it, the black sky and a curved temperature drops with horizon, like in space. While space officially starts at increasing altitude, reaching 100km altitude, the conditions in lows of -50/-60°C at its upper the stratosphere are not unlike those in layers. Above the troposphere, the space: the sky above is pitch black, the temperature is stable for a few kilometers. This stable transition layer is called the Strato... what? Press release ASGARD page 1 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education horizon shows both Earth's curvature and the fragile 'thin blue line' of its lower atmosphere. Schematic presentation of troposphere and stratosphere. The shown altitudes can vary, depending on the latitude. The ozone layer has a light yellow color to make it visible, but in reality it is perfectly transparant. Dry, thin, cold like on Mars Temperature There are many differences in composition Flying in the Earth stratosphere, the between the Earth and Mars atmospheres. temperatures range between -60°C to 0°C. But high layers of the stratosphere on Earth These kind of temperatures are very common has several parameters that are very similar on Mars. to the air on the Martial surface. The weather balloon Water vapor allows experimenting in Air pressure Almost all water molecules on Mars-like conditions. We measure an air pressure of Earth stay under the stratosphere about 6 – 7 hectopascal (hPa) at (they form clouds there). On the highest point of the ASGARD flight. This is Mars, water vapor is very rare on all altitudes. less then 1 % of the pressure at sea level. This value is about the same on the surface of UV radiation Mars. On Earth, it is mainly the ozone layer that blocks the UV radiation (UV B and UV C). Press release ASGARD page 2 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education Flying above the ozone layer, the ASGARD balloon experiences elevated UV radiation, just like on Mars, where ozone hardly exists. Nevertheless, student teams that will base their research question on that similarity, have to take into account that there are also important differences, likechemical composition, climatic processes and luminosity. We can conclude that the weather balloon allows experimenting in Mars-like conditions. Who can participate? The contest is open to all secondary schools, to considerable variations during the flight: Belgian and foreign, and to the third level temperature, wind speeds, air humidity, solar (5/6) of Belgian primary schools. A call for radiation, etc. You could also study clouds or proposals will be issued to the educational the effect on living cells. Or you could community in september 2015. A measure radiation and other flight Like a real scientist, team usually consists of 4 to 5 parameters. Just like professional one has to be creative students and a teacher helping scientists, you put in a great deal of to study effects on the them manage their project. For creativity to achieve your subject of the practical reasons, no bigger teams objectives. Some cameras are experiment. can be accepted. always on board to provide some footage of the near-space environment. Beware: the How to register? maximum allowable mass for an experiment Gather a small team and think of a is 150 grams. worthwhile experiment you can put together When you and your team have come up with yourselves. Specify your research question. A a cool idea (it might take several reminder that several parameters are subject Press release ASGARD page 3 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education brainstorming sessions to achieve this), put it on paper using our submission form on www.esero.be and submit it before November 11th 2015. Explain in detail how you propose to build the necessary hardware, as technical feasibility is a major criterion for the jury. In the morning, the teams give presentations to one another about their self-made projects. In the afternoon, the experiments are integrated in the gondola and their flight-readiness is assessed. A jury with an astronaut A jury of experts, led by Dirk Frimout, Belgium's first astronaut, will select 10 projects out of all submitted proposals. Extra teams might be selected if the total mass limit is not yet reached. The jury will focus on scientific and Dirk Frimout technical merit, creativity, originality and team spirit. The winning teams are asked to build their experiment, test it and hand it over to the organisers before April 18, 2016. Some young students are busy with the final touch on their experiment. 2. Thursday April 28th: Plateau Uccle All teams, including those from the primary schools, are present at the launch. For the remainder of the day, they are offered a varied programme of workshops and guided tours at the different scientific institutions located at the ‘Plateau’ in Uccle: the Royal Observatory, the Royal Meteorological Institute and the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy. Late in the afternoon the gondola descends under a parachute and is recovered by Erik and a team of students. The gondola usually lands in Belgium, between 50 and 100km from Brussels. Meanwhile, Dirk Frimout gives lectures about space exploration for all groups. Selected! What now? Your team's experiment will be flown on the gondola. That is the box hanging beneath the balloon. Its walls are styrofoam for insulation. Electronics are usually placed inside, while sensors, or any part of an experiment that requires exposure to the outside conditions can be placed on any of the sides of the gondola. The launch campaign covers 3 days: 1. Wednesday Brussels April Press release ASGARD 27th: Planetarium page 4 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education 3. Friday April 29th: plant seeds or insect eggs can be Planetarium Brussels flown for example, and their The gondola with the post-flight behaviour compared experiments being recovered, with a control group kept on the the students get to find out if ground. their experiments worked as intended. A 'first results' Teams from secondary schools presentation is given to the can decide upon registration other teams, while a more whether to apply as 'beginners' Students with their Arduino kit thorough analysis of the data or rather as 'accomplished'. en met hun Arduino kit gathered can take place at school in the Beginners can purchase an Arduino Starters Kit following weeks. Numerous students base from the organisers for €50 to help them get their graduation work/thesis on the Asgard started on electronics. These popular kits are experiment or they make their own scientific ideal to learn about microcontrollers, circuits poster. and sensors. Selected teams get their kit refunded, while they can keep it as school property. Experience is optional The purpose of this approach is to motivate You would like to participate, but you have no teams to get involved with experience with electronics? No electronics. Using Arduino is of problem. Participation is within reach course by no means mandatory, for almost everybody, even and everyone can send in an Teams from primary schools for teams with no experience experiment without electronic usually send in proposals with in technics and electronics. compounds. little or no technology involved: “The balloon experiment shows how science works: it starts with an idea and after a long process you get the measurements and your results which you need to interpret. Maybe, one of those students chooses a scientific carrier and becomes a colleague.” (Roeland Van Malderen, KMI, 2013) Press release ASGARD page 5 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education About the partners Sint-Pieterscollege Jette cooperates with different partners on Asgard. They are presented in brief here. ESERO BELGIUM ESERO (European Space Education Resources Office) exists in nine ESA member states to support schools and teachers in their STEM* activities. ESERO uses astronautics and the enthusiasm it awakens in both young and old to achieve this. *STEM = international term for ‘Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics’ www.esero.be Facebook: ESERO.Belgium/België/Belgique/Belgien Role in the Asgard programme? ESERO is co-organsier and funder. ESERO takes care of all practical matters and logistics, and is partly in charge of communication with the schools. RMI and STCE The Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) is a federal scientific institute devoted to meteorology. Daily measurements and weather forecasting are supplemented with a vast programme of scientific research. The scientists often use weather balloons for their work. http://www.meteo.be The 'Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence’ (STCE) studies the Sun and its influence on space, the Earth and its atmosphere. It also encompasses a service centre for space-weather. http://www.stce.be/ Photos taken by a camera on the gondola, each at a higher altitude than the previous. Press release ASGARD page 6 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education Role in the Asgard programme? Once a year RMI and STCE donate the balloon for the Asgard programme. RMI is in charge of preparing the balloon for launch and puts its infrastructure at the disposal of the organisers. Moreover, guided tours are offered to the teams, including the climatology parc and the weather office. ROB The Royal Observatory of Belgium is a federal scientific institute devoted to several fields of astronomy and is located in Uccle, next to the RMI. http://www.astro.oma.be Planetarium Brussels At the Planetarium of Brussels, you discover everything there is to know about astronomy and astronautics. Watch a full dome movie explaing the wonders of stars and planets. Daily visits for schools and individuals alike. www.planetarium.be Role in the Asgard programme? On the day of the launch, ROB offers guided tours and puts infrastructure at the disposal of the organisers. BISA The Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy is a third federal scientific institute located at the Plateau in Uccle. Here, atmospheres of Earth, planets and other Role in the Asgard programme? The day before launch and the day after, the teams from secondary schools gather at the Planetarium. The workshops for the primary schools are given by dedicated Planetarium personnel. And ESERO has its office in the Planetarium building. objects are studied. http://www.aeronomie.be Role in the Asgard programme? BISA offers guided tours and workshops to the students on the day of the launch. ASGARD : why ? Mission statement? Actively working on astronautics instead of only reading/dreaming about it. Foster interest in science and technology in students of all ages. Deepen understanding of curriculum-related topics. Promote self-confidence through goal-oriented teamwork. Why stratospheric balloons? Inexpensive compared to other means of access to space or the upper atmosphere Payload recovery Wide range of scientific objectives possible: Earth observation, atmospheric research, astronomic observations, … Press release ASGARD page 7 aug 2014 ASGARD Balloons for space education ASGARD FAST FACTS Editions ASGARD I ASGARD II ASGARD III ASGARD IV ASGARD V ASGARD VI Important dates Novembre 11th, 2015 December 1st, 2015 April 18th, 2016 28/04/2011 15/03/2012 25/04/2013 27/03/2014 23/04/2015 28/04/2016 April 27-28-29, 2016 Open to whom? Team size Selected teams Languages Proposals submitted Teams selection Submit experiment to organisers after building and testing phase Launch campaign All secondary schools (Belgian and foreign), third level (5/6) of Belgian primary schools Primary: 1 classgroup + their teacher Secondary: 4 to 5 students + 1 teacher 2 primary schools, 8 secondary school teams English, Dutch, French (Presentations are given in English) Contact Sint-Pieterscollege Jette Erik de Schrijver [email protected] 0486 78 70 63 ESERO België [email protected] 02 474 70 58 0475 75 55 15 ESERO Belgique [email protected] 02 474 70 66 0499 38 55 53 Website http://www.esero.be https://www.facebook.com/groups/153214554744003/?fref=ts Press release ASGARD page 8 aug 2014
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