For the last two years Transition Year students at Mount St. Michael have taken part in the GMIT CanSat competition.
CanSat is a European Space Agency competition for 2nd Level students (transition year and upwards) run by ESERO Ireland in association with GMIT and other Institutes of Technology around the country.
A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, built inside an empty soft drinks can. The challenge for the students is to fit all the major subsystems found in a satellite, such as power, sensors and a communication system, into this minimal volume. The CanSat is then launched to an altitude of a few hundred metres by a rocket or dropped from a platform or captive balloon and its mission begins: to carry out a scientific experiment and achieve a safe landing.
The competition involves teams of 2nd Level school students competing to design, build and test a CanSat. They are trained and supported throughout the process by their teachers in the school and GMIT staff and corporate mentors.
The competition gives students a feel for the excitement of technological achievement by launching their own ‘satellite’, and gives them their first practical experience of a real space project. They are responsible for all aspects: designing the CanSat, selecting its mission, integrating the components, testing, preparing for launch and then analysing the data.
Our students have been very successful in this competition, being runners-up in the 2017 GMIT finals.