Raspberry Pi in Space for the Saddleworth Air Training Corps

Reporter: Judith Grinter

Saddleworth Air Training Corps have hopes and plans of running a Raspberry Pi experiment on-board the International Space Station next month.

In September cadets from 2200DF (Saddleworth) Air Cadets wrote a computer code to send to the International Space Station as part of a wider initiative run through the Raspberry Pi Foundation, known as Astro Pi. The code was written in the coding language of Python, as used by the cadets at school.

For some of those involved this was an introduction to coding, while others have learn about it previously. Those participating remarked that they found it to be a good addition to their learning as it provided a practical angle to coding and demonstrated a real world application. The code itself is designed to deliver a message to astronauts on-board the space station and to take and display a temperature reading. This code is set to travel into space next month. The cadets have remarked that these activities have brought to life the exciting world of space travel, usually only experienced on TV, and have given them a greater insight and knowledge of this vital area, covering many STEM topics.

Following this project the cadets visited Tim Peakes spacecraft at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. While there they were given the opportunity to learn more about Tim Peakes mission and the International Space Station through a series of displays, an IMAX 3D film covering life onboard the space station, a virtual reality experience allowing them to live through the return journey to Earth and finally a science show describing how scientists observe the universe around us.

In the coming weeks the cadets will submit their idea for a 3 hour long experiment to be run onboard the Space Station, utilising infra red cameras and a host of other sensors. Should the plan be approved this will then be developed using the same coding technology and be run in space, with the scientific data being returned in the new year.

Author: Jude Gidney - Editor

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