Astro-Pi

Every year the European Space Agency, with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, sponsor a challenge for young people to write a short python programme to be run on the International Space Station (ISS).

Two specially hardened Raspberry Pi’s have been flown up to the ISS and are in orbit around the planet. The code that young people write is checked to make sure it runs, lasts for less than 30 seconds, and makes use of the various sensors on the Raspberry Pi. It is then sent to the ISS where it is run for the astronauts to see and learn from.

Between January and February BC (Before Coronavirus) we had 18 teams from DigiLocal clubs across the region taking part. They joined nearly 6,500 other teams from across the EU region.

Last year I printed out certificates and awarded them to young people at their clubs. Obviously we can’t do that this year, so I’ve emailed the parents with their child’s certificate.

Each certificate includes their name and their team name, and on the reverse an image of the Earth with the path of the ISS showing the exact location when their programme ran!

And, yes, I’ve checked and the maps are all different.

This year’s teams included:

• Red Saints
• Potato People
• BACON
• Gryffindor Hogwarts
• Team Wilburtron mk9
• epicspaceyesokcoolmeow
• Space Smiley Face
• Space Girls
• Apples
• yeetfest
• Potato Squad
• M&M’s
• Time Stones
• epic gamers
• space
• Cool Guys On Devices Engineering
• Team Girls
• Space Potatoes

Congratulations to everyone that took part and had their code on the International Space Station!

Seven teams of young people across the region complete challenge to have their code run on computers in space!

Seven teams of young people from Bristol and the West have completed the AstroPi Mission Zero coding challenge. The challenge is a national programme which offers young people the amazing opportunity to conduct scientific investigations in space by writing computer programs that run on Raspberry Pi computers aboard the International Space Station.

The teams, with members aged from 8 to 14, were all members of DigiLocal, a charitable organisation which seeks to bring coding clubs into the heart of communities through a network of volunteer ambassadors. The challenge was running from February this year, with teams submitting entries based on the Python computer coding language that were developed during DigiLocal club sessions. 

This year 5,677 entries were received from the 24 ESA member/associate member states, with 4,621 being run on the International Space Station.  The certificates of completion were awarded to the seven teams throughout the region in June. Each certificate includes the team name, and a fantastic map on the back with the actual location of the ISS when that team’s program ran.

“We’re enormously proud of the hard work these teams have demonstrated. Giving young people access to opportunities they wouldn’t get elsewhere is key to DigiLocal. We do this by supporting communities to run tech clubs for those young people.”

Dr John Bradford, CEO of DigiLocal

The AstroPi challenge was part of British ESA Astronaut Tim Peake’s mission Principia (2015–2016) on the ISS. The UK Space Agency and the Raspberry Pi Foundation collaborated to foster young people’s interest in space science and to help them develop computing and digital making skills. For this purpose, two space-hardened Raspberry Pi computers, called Astro Pis, equipped with environmental sensors (a Sense HAT) were sent to the ISS and then used to run students’ and young people’s programs, with ISS crew support.