Students at the Institut du Sacré-Coeur in Mons will send a mini-satellite into space after reaching the final of the CanSat competition.
The competition is organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) as an education project to promote STEM skills to young European students.
A CanSat simulates a real satellite and is made from an aluminium can. The challenge for these students is to try and fit all of the subsystems of a satellite into a smaller version and then launch it up to an altitude of 1km.
There are three phases of the competition. The first is the imagination stage, where students formulate a plan as a team and design the CanSat that they will eventually launch.
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The second stage is to build the CanSat and make it functional, while also making sure that it meets all of the technical requirements. The third and final stage is to launch it at an altitude of 1km with a rocket.
Every year the competition is held in multiple countries. The winning team of each national competition are to participate in the European launch campaign.
The students from Mons have time to prepare still, as the final isn't until the end of April. The students will launch their satellites at the Elsenborn military base and if they win, they will represent Belgium in the European launch campaign.
