A group of intrepid Year 12 students took part in a moon base challenge alongside other UTCs around the country.
Set by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), the brief was to create a moon base on Callisto, one of Jupiter’s moons, for either mining, colonisation, or research.
Teams of 4-6 students had two days to work on a presentation delivered virtually to Dstl’s Space Scientists on Wednesday 9th October. Teams had to cover the roles of Spacecraft Systems Engineer, Resources Engineer, Environment Engineer and Societal and Health Engineer. They were given a weight limit for supplies and materials that they could bring with them from earth and had to consider the conditions on Callisto that would impact on the mission to build a base.
All students enjoyed the challenge and did extremely well. Feedback from the judges was: “We were absolutely blown away by the high calibre of presentation from UTC Oxfordshire this morning; all the students were professional and should be really proud of themselves. The thorough understanding of scientific and engineering processes, materials properties, sustainability and closed loop solutions were clearly evident from thep presentation, whilst the attention to detail, creative solutioneering and talent for communication displayed was fantastic.”
Design pictured above.