Imperial hosts the UK finals of the Space Settlement Design Competition - News

Wednesday 28 March 2012
By John-Paul Jones

School pupils' plans for colonising Mercury have netted them a trip to NASA in a space settlement design competition hosted at Imperial.

The year 2084 sees the human race searching through the darkness of space for new land to colonise. The eyes of an ambitious few settle on the hostile surface of Mercury, a desolate place without atmosphere, where exposure to full sunlight is deadly – as far removedfrom the idea of a home away from home as even the most intrepid space explorer might imagine.

The teams of engineers competing to tackle the mighty challenge of building a settlement here are not NASA specialists however, but 160 fourteen to eighteen year olds from UK schools. The pupils all descended on Imperial last weekend for the UK finals of the Space Settlement Design Competition, to battle it out for their chance to head to NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas for the international finals.

Forming into four teams of 40 students the competitors had to structure themselves as companies in order to tackle a brief from a fictional company specialising in space colonisation, requiring a design for a space settlement to hold thousands of people, on the surface of Mercury. 

Watch the video below to hear from participants at this year's competition.

The winning team was called Dougledyne-Flechtel, with their design featuring a settlement which moves across the surface on caterpillar tracks, with a thick shell to protect it from solar flares. Team captain Tom Speed, of Riddlesdown Collegiate School said: "I feel like I’ve learned a huge amount over the past couple of days. I went into the judging ceremony pleased with what we’d done but completely not expecting this, it caps a fantastic weekend.”

Running since 1984, the International Space Settlement Design Competition challenges school students around the world to tackle an engineering brief focusing on human colonies in space. Its aim is to give young people a glimpse into real work pressures and priorities, as well as to excite interest in engineering and science. Organiser Dr Randall Perry who arranges the UK finals at Imperial, says:

"This competition really changes young people’s perspectives, it gets them excited about science as well as giving them the opportunity to develop good team, management and communication skills. It’s fantastic to have them here at Imperial as it’s the first time some of them have experienced a university campus."

The school pupils arrived on Friday in time for their Saturday morning briefing. From first receiving the breif they had 24 hours to prepare their design and the presentation for the judges. On Sunday morning the school pupils then faced a panel including Dr Perry; Anita Gale, formerly of NASA and cofounder of the competition; benefactors David Dangoor and Christian Sweeting; Jeff Wayne, the composer of The Musical Version of War of the Worlds and the Cassini space-craft engineer Dr Leah-Nani Alconcel.

Over the course of their preparations, which often last late into Saturday night, the pupils work with a CEO, drawn from a real organisation, and technical advisors consisting of Imperial volunteers. External supporters include the TV astronomer Sir Patrick Moore, who recorded a special message on the importance of the competition.

Supporters of this year’s competition include The Space, Science and Engineering Foundation, Imperial College London, The UK Space Agency, the Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre and the Astrobiology Society of Britain.

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