sandbox
magazine Build and launch a rocket Learn how to be a space scientist Discover how GPS works
the space issue Explore the universe with us!
Issue 02
Summer 2020
welcome to sandbox magazine the magazine for TEC girls
Sandbox is the official magazine of TECgirls, celebrating all things tech, engineering and digital creativity for girls aged 6-12. Explore, make, design, code and discover with us!
THE TEAM
Editor Fiona Campbell-Howes
@TECgirls TECgirls
A note to parents, guardians, and educators
Across the UK, there’s a lack of women in the Technology, Engineering and Creative sectors. We founded TECgirls at the end of 2019 with the aim of helping girls as young as 6 realise that TEC can be a girl thing. Through this magazine, our website and our events, we want to encourage young girls to join in with TEC clubs and activities around Cornwall – and maybe consider a future career in the TEC industries. You can learn more about TECgirls – and see how you can get involved – at www.tecgirls.co.uk.
Contributors Lizzie Cresswell, Caitlin Gould, Eliza H, Jane Orme, Rachel Picken
Get in touch
sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk
Page 10-11
Show us your project Eliza codes an adventure game, and Maddie, Emmy and Grace invent a GPS wristband.
Build and launch a rocket Blast off into the skies with our three-part making activity.
Page 6-7 welcome to space
Page 14-15 How it works: GPS
The lowdown on everything from the Big Bang to black holes.
Page 8-9 Famous women in space
Design and illustration Venn Creative Louise Hannaford Special thanks Agile PR, Bluefruit Software, CIoS Digital Skills Partnership, European Space Agency, Goonhilly Earth Station, Radix Communications, Spaceport Cornwall, Spirent Communications, Software Cornwall
Page 4-5
What’s inside?
Caitlin Gould
The invisible space signals that tell us where we are.
Page 16-17
Jane Orme
Puzzle page Take our space quiz, and navigate NASA’s maze.
Emily King
2
Fiona Campbell-Howes
Page 18
More fun with TEC Cool space-themed stuff you can do today.
Three awesome women who changed our understanding of space.
3
welcome to sandbox magazine the magazine for TEC girls
Sandbox is the official magazine of TECgirls, celebrating all things tech, engineering and digital creativity for girls aged 6-12. Explore, make, design, code and discover with us!
THE TEAM
Editor Fiona Campbell-Howes
@TECgirls TECgirls
A note to parents, guardians, and educators
Across the UK, there’s a lack of women in the Technology, Engineering and Creative sectors. We founded TECgirls at the end of 2019 with the aim of helping girls as young as 6 realise that TEC can be a girl thing. Through this magazine, our website and our events, we want to encourage young girls to join in with TEC clubs and activities around Cornwall – and maybe consider a future career in the TEC industries. You can learn more about TECgirls – and see how you can get involved – at www.tecgirls.co.uk.
Contributors Lizzie Cresswell, Caitlin Gould, Eliza H, Jane Orme, Rachel Picken
Get in touch
sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk
Page 10-11
Show us your project Eliza codes an adventure game, and Maddie, Emmy and Grace invent a GPS wristband.
Build and launch a rocket Blast off into the skies with our three-part making activity.
Page 6-7 welcome to space
Page 14-15 How it works: GPS
The lowdown on everything from the Big Bang to black holes.
Page 8-9 Famous women in space
Design and illustration Venn Creative Louise Hannaford Special thanks Agile PR, Bluefruit Software, CIoS Digital Skills Partnership, European Space Agency, Goonhilly Earth Station, Radix Communications, Spaceport Cornwall, Spirent Communications, Software Cornwall
Page 4-5
What’s inside?
Caitlin Gould
The invisible space signals that tell us where we are.
Page 16-17
Jane Orme
Puzzle page Take our space quiz, and navigate NASA’s maze.
Emily King
2
Fiona Campbell-Howes
Page 18
More fun with TEC Cool space-themed stuff you can do today.
Three awesome women who changed our understanding of space.
3
show us your project
Show Us Your Project and Win!
scratch adventure game Tell us about your project It’s a small text adventure game, in which you help a unicorn to protect the woods from an evil fairy called Gonster.
Do you have a coding or digital making project you’d like to show other Sandbox readers? Tell us about it and you could win a micro:bit Inventor’s Kit worth £37.50!
Find out more: microbit.org
This competition is open to girls aged 6-12 living in Cornwall. Please send details of just one project. We’ll contact you to let you know if your project has been chosen. For details of how to enter, go to www.tecgirls.co.uk/show-us-your-project.
Where did you get the idea for it? I’ve played text adventures before and thought I could make my own. What did you use to make it? I used a laptop and a super cool website called Scratch. How long did it take? Two hours in two separate bursts. How easy was it to make? It was quite hard since it has so many elements like music and text-to-speech. What do you like most about it? I really love the story and how I got to create my own world.
eliza, age 11
What do you think you will make next? I think I will make a battle game, perhaps with a medieval theme, because I’ve never done one.
about scratch
If you haven’t used Scratch before, it’s a super-easy and fun way to start coding – and all you need is a web browser. Go to https://scratch.mit.edu/ideas to start. 4
Inspiration from Team Safely Fancy winning £5,000 for your tech project idea? That’s what happened to Grace, Emmy and Maddie from Penrice Academy in St Austell when they entered their ‘Safely’ project into UK Space Agency’s SatelLife competition. The girls invented a GPS wristband that helps you find your friends at festivals – and alerts someone if you’re in trouble. The UK Space Agency loved it, and awarded them a £5,000 runner-up prize. Want to have a go next year? Find out more about the UK Space Agency at gov.uk/ukspaceagency
emmy
maddie
“
Doing this project made us see how creative and imaginative science can get
”
Grace, age 15.
5
grace
show us your project
Show Us Your Project and Win!
scratch adventure game Tell us about your project It’s a small text adventure game, in which you help a unicorn to protect the woods from an evil fairy called Gonster.
Do you have a coding or digital making project you’d like to show other Sandbox readers? Tell us about it and you could win a micro:bit Inventor’s Kit worth £37.50!
Find out more: microbit.org
This competition is open to girls aged 6-12 living in Cornwall. Please send details of just one project. We’ll contact you to let you know if your project has been chosen. For details of how to enter, go to www.tecgirls.co.uk/show-us-your-project-and-win-amicro-bit-kit.
Where did you get the idea for it? I’ve played text adventures before and thought I could make my own. What did you use to make it? I used a laptop and a super cool website called Scratch. How long did it take? Two hours in two separate bursts. How easy was it to make? It was quite hard since it has so many elements like music and text-to-speech. What do you like most about it? I really love the story and how I got to create my own world.
eliza, age 11
What do you think you will make next? I think I will make a battle game, perhaps with a medieval theme, because I’ve never done one.
about scratch
If you haven’t used Scratch before, it’s a super-easy and fun way to start coding – and all you need is a web browser. Go to https://scratch.mit.edu/ideas to start. 4
Inspiration from Team Safely Fancy winning £5,000 for your tech project idea? That’s what happened to Grace, Emmy and Maddie from Penrice Academy in St Austell when they entered their ‘Safely’ project into UK Space Agency’s SatelLife competition. The girls invented a GPS wristband that helps you find your friends at festivals – and alerts someone if you’re in trouble. The UK Space Agency loved it, and awarded them a £5,000 runner-up prize. Want to have a go next year? Find out more about the UK Space Agency at gov.uk/ukspaceagency
emmy
maddie
“
Doing this project made us see how creative and imaginative science can get
”
Grace, age 15.
5
grace
WELCOME TO SPACE
Wait, what? A goldilocks planet is a planet in the habitable zone around a star. It’s not so close that all the water burns away, and not so far away that everything freezes. Like Baby Bear’s porridge, its temperature is ‘just right’ for life. Scientists think there could be over 40 billion Goldilocks planets in the universe!
By Lizzie Cresswell Illustration by Louise Hannaford
In the 1920s, the astronomer Edwin Hubble came up with a brilliant new theory. But there was so much energy and heat, the bubble exploded! The universe began to stretch and grow, and particles began to collide and come together.
He had been studying the stars through his telescope, and saw they were moving away from Earth. In fact, the further away they were, the faster they were moving. Hubble thought this was because the universe is still expanding.
Over billions of years, all kinds of space phenomena were created. If you were to travel into space today, here’s what you might find:
90 years ago, this caused quite a stir! Nobody knew how vast space was, or that there are galaxies outside of ours.
Planets For a planet to be a planet, it must do three things: travel around a star, be big enough that its gravity makes it round, and be big enough to clear away any neighbouring objects.
Today we know lots about space, and we’ve sent people, spacecraft and satellites up to explore it. Hubble’s theory gave us some clues to why the universe looks like it does today… The Big Bang Everything in the universe is moving apart, which means it was once all together. 14 billion years ago, atoms, particles and gases were all squashed into a bubble smaller than the head of a pin.
The Earth is a goldilocks planet, but other planets are very different. Some are huge, hot and rocky, others tiny and frozen. Our solar system has eight planets, of which Jupiter is the largest – a huge gas giant. Jupiter is so big that you could fit 1,300 Earths into it!
Wait, what? An astronomer is a scientist who studies natural objects in space, like stars, planets, comets and moons.
Satellites In 1957, Russia sent the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. Since then, we’ve sent up lots more. They beam us TV shows, weather images, navigation data and much more.
Comets Comets are big clumps of dirt, rocks and ice that orbit the Sun. When they get too close, they produce gases that burst into flames – giving them a huge burning head and long ‘tail’ of fire.
Moons Moons are natural satellites that orbit planets. (There’s a lot of orbiting in space!) Some planets have more than others. We only have one Moon, but Saturn has 82.
Astronomer Caroline Herschel discovered eight comets in the 1700s, including the 35P/Herschel– Rigollet comet. It has an orbit of 155 years, so we won’t see it again until 2092! Black holes If you were travelling into space, you’d be better off avoiding these! When a really big star burns out, the gravity around it is so strong that it collapses in on itself. That sometimes creates a black hole. It’s an area of gravity that’s so strong, nothing can escape it – not even light. Spooky stuff!
Stars There are lots of myths and legends about stars. In Greek mythology, the constellations were thought to be outlines of animals, people or objects placed there by the Gods. Now, we know each star is a huge ball of gases that has been burning for billions of years. And not all stars are seen at night. We can only see the closest star to us during the day – the Sun. Stars come in all different sizes and colours. The largest supergiants can be over 1,500 times bigger than our Sun, while the smallest neutron stars are about as big as a city. But the bigger a star, the cooler it is, as it’s more spread out.
6
7
WELCOME TO SPACE
Wait, what? A goldilocks planet is a planet in the habitable zone around a star. It’s not so close that all the water burns away, and not so far away that everything freezes. Like Baby Bear’s porridge, its temperature is ‘just right’ for life. Scientists think there could be over 40 billion Goldilocks planets in the universe!
By Lizzie Cresswell Illustration by Louise Hannaford
In the 1920s, the astronomer Edwin Hubble came up with a brilliant new theory. But there was so much energy and heat, the bubble exploded! The universe began to stretch and grow, and particles began to collide and come together.
He had been studying the stars through his telescope, and saw they were moving away from Earth. In fact, the further away they were, the faster they were moving. Hubble thought this was because the universe is still expanding.
Over billions of years, all kinds of space phenomena were created. If you were to travel into space today, here’s what you might find:
90 years ago, this caused quite a stir! Nobody knew how vast space was, or that there are galaxies outside of ours.
Planets For a planet to be a planet, it must do three things: travel around a star, be big enough that its gravity makes it round, and be big enough to clear away any neighbouring objects.
Today we know lots about space, and we’ve sent people, spacecraft and satellites up to explore it. Hubble’s theory gave us some clues to why the universe looks like it does today… The Big Bang Everything in the universe is moving apart, which means it was once all together. 14 billion years ago, atoms, particles and gases were all squashed into a bubble smaller than the head of a pin.
The Earth is a goldilocks planet, but other planets are very different. Some are huge, hot and rocky, others tiny and frozen. Our solar system has eight planets, of which Jupiter is the largest – a huge gas giant. Jupiter is so big that you could fit 1,300 Earths into it!
Wait, what? An astronomer is a scientist who studies natural objects in space, like stars, planets, comets and moons.
Satellites In 1957, Russia sent the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, into space. Since then, we’ve sent up lots more. They beam us TV shows, weather images, navigation data and much more.
Comets Comets are big clumps of dirt, rocks and ice that orbit the Sun. When they get too close, they produce gases that burst into flames – giving them a huge burning head and long ‘tail’ of fire.
Moons Moons are natural satellites that orbit planets. (There’s a lot of orbiting in space!) Some planets have more than others. We only have one Moon, but Saturn has 82.
Astronomer Caroline Herschel discovered eight comets in the 1700s, including the 35P/Herschel– Rigollet comet. It has an orbit of 155 years, so we won’t see it again until 2092! Black holes If you were travelling into space, you’d be better off avoiding these! When a really big star burns out, the gravity around it is so strong that it collapses in on itself. That sometimes creates a black hole. It’s an area of gravity that’s so strong, nothing can escape it – not even light. Spooky stuff!
Stars There are lots of myths and legends about stars. In Greek mythology, the constellations were thought to be outlines of animals, people or objects placed there by the Gods. Now, we know each star is a huge ball of gases that has been burning for billions of years. And not all stars are seen at night. We can only see the closest star to us during the day – the Sun. Stars come in all different sizes and colours. The largest supergiants can be over 1,500 times bigger than our Sun, while the smallest neutron stars are about as big as a city. But the bigger a star, the cooler it is, as it’s more spread out.
6
7
famous Women IN SPACE
Wait, what? A periodic comet is one that orbits the sun and returns regularly to our skies. 35/P Herschel-Rigollet is next due to be visible from the Earth in 2092!
By Jane Orme
How do we know so much about space? It’s all thanks to the work done by talented scientists, mathematicians and astronauts. Here are three brilliant women who have deepened our knowledge of space.
katherine johnson
(1918-2020)
Katherine was a talented mathematician who worked as a ‘computer’ at NASA. She wrote the orbital mechanics calculations that enabled the first crewed space flights.
Caroline Herschel
She calculated flight windows, trajectories, and emergency return paths. The first ever Moon landing in 1969 was successful thanks to her brilliant work. When electronic computers were introduced, one astronaut refused to trust them. He said he wouldn’t go into space based on their calculations unless Katherine checked the numbers first.
(1750-1848) Valentina is a Russian cosmonaut. She was the first woman to go into space – when she was just 26!
Valentina Tereshkova
(born 1937)
Wait, what? A cosmonaut is someone who has been trained to go into space by the Russian Space Agency. An astronaut, on the other hand, has been trained by NASA, ESA, CSA,or JAXA.
She was born into poverty and became interested in machines when working in factories. She loved parachuting and had completed over 100 parachute jumps before heading to space as a pilot. In 1963, Valentina orbited the Earth 48 times in three days on a solo mission. She is still the only woman to have had a solo space flight. Using her call sign ‘Seagull’, she sent this message from her flight: “It is I, Seagull! Everything is fine. I see the horizon – it’s sky blue with a dark strip. How beautiful the Earth is. Everything is going well.” Cool fact: The Tereshkova crater on the moon is named after her – as are many buildings and landmarks in Russia. 8
Caroline was a German-born British astronomer who discovered many comets and nebula. One of the comets she discovered is named after her. It’s a periodic comet called 35P/HerschelRigollet. She was sick with typhus as a child and was never expected to marry. Her mother wanted her to be a homemaker and thought she shouldn’t receive an education. Despite this, her father and brother gave her lessons when they could.
Cool fact: Katherine overcame racial prejudice to go to high school and university, and was one of the first black women to get a job at NASA. The 2016 film Hidden Figures tells her story.
She was the first paid woman astronomer, receiving £50 a year to work as an assistant to her astronomer brother, William. Cool fact: In 1838 Caroline was the first woman to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for her work cataloguing stars and nebula.
Wait, what? Before electronic computers were introduced, people who did complex calculations were called computers – and they were mainly women. 9
famous Women IN SPACE
Wait, what? A periodic comet is one that orbits the sun and returns regularly to our skies. 35/P Herschel-Rigollet is next due to be visible from the Earth in 2092!
By Jane Orme
How do we know so much about space? It’s all thanks to the work done by talented scientists, mathematicians and astronauts. Here are three brilliant women who have deepened our knowledge of space.
katherine johnson
(1918-2020)
Katherine was a talented mathematician who worked as a ‘computer’ at NASA. She wrote the orbital mechanics calculations that enabled the first crewed space flights.
Caroline Herschel
She calculated flight windows, trajectories, and emergency return paths. The first ever Moon landing in 1969 was successful thanks to her brilliant work. When electronic computers were introduced, one astronaut refused to trust them. He said he wouldn’t go into space based on their calculations unless Katherine checked the numbers first.
(1750-1848) Valentina is a Russian cosmonaut. She was the first woman to go into space – when she was just 26!
Valentina Tereshkova
(born 1937)
Wait, what? A cosmonaut is someone who has been trained to go into space by the Russian Space Agency. An astronaut, on the other hand, has been trained by NASA, ESA, CSA,or JAXA.
She was born into poverty and became interested in machines when working in factories. She loved parachuting and had completed over 100 parachute jumps before heading to space as a pilot. In 1963, Valentina orbited the Earth 48 times in three days on a solo mission. She is still the only woman to have had a solo space flight. Using her call sign ‘Seagull’, she sent this message from her flight: “It is I, Seagull! Everything is fine. I see the horizon – it’s sky blue with a dark strip. How beautiful the Earth is. Everything is going well.” Cool fact: The Tereshkova crater on the moon is named after her – as are many buildings and landmarks in Russia. 8
Caroline was a German-born British astronomer who discovered many comets and nebula. One of the comets she discovered is named after her. It’s a periodic comet called 35P/HerschelRigollet. She was sick with typhus as a child and was never expected to marry. Her mother wanted her to be a homemaker and thought she shouldn’t receive an education. Despite this, her father and brother gave her lessons when they could.
Cool fact: Katherine overcame racial prejudice to go to high school and university, and was one of the first black women to get a job at NASA. The 2016 film Hidden Figures tells her story.
She was the first paid woman astronomer, receiving £50 a year to work as an assistant to her astronomer brother, William. Cool fact: In 1838 Caroline was the first woman to be awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society for her work cataloguing stars and nebula.
Wait, what? Before electronic computers were introduced, people who did complex calculations were called computers – and they were mainly women. 9
For the launcher part of this project, you’ll need help from an adult who’s confident with tools and DIY. If you don’t know someone who can help, bring your rocket along to the next TECgirls LIVE event and we’ll help you launch it!
If you can, try to launch your rocket outside – it can soar pretty high! 10
A printer, colouring pens and glue An electronically-operated 5v valve A piece of solid pipework A piece of hosepipe A car tyre air valve A 500ml fizzy drink bottle A bicycle pump
to make your rocket
Download the rocket template PDF and print it out
Did your rocket blast off? We’d love to see a photo!
2, 1…
(Or if not quite into space, at least towards it.)
A laptop computer with an internet connection
, 3, in 5, 4 unch to la
Just like NASA scientist Margaret Hamilton, you too can write the code that launches a rocket into space.
show us your launch pics
A micro:bit (if you don’t have one, see if your local library has one you can borrow)
Ready
make your own... space rocket
For this activity you need:
Email it to sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk or tweet it to us at @TECgirls, and we’ll send you a TECgirls goodie bag with stickers, badges and more.
Colour in your rocket, cut it out, and glue it into shape
to write the launch code
Download the instruction sheet PDF
Follow the instructions Prepare for lift off!
to build the launcher
Space code pioneer Margaret Hamilton led the team who coded the navigation system for Apollo 11, the spacecraft that took the first humans to the moon. The code filled a stack of papers that was taller than her!
Download the launcher instruction sheet
Gather the materials and assemble the launcher 11
For the launcher part of this project, you’ll need help from an adult who’s confident with tools and DIY. If you don’t know someone who can help, bring your rocket along to the next TECgirls LIVE event and we’ll help you launch it!
If you can, try to launch your rocket outside – it can soar pretty high! 10
A printer, colouring pens and glue An electronically-operated 5v valve A piece of solid pipework A piece of hosepipe A car tyre air valve A 500ml fizzy drink bottle A bicycle pump
to make your rocket
Download the rocket template PDF and print it out
Did your rocket blast off? We’d love to see a photo!
2, 1…
(Or if not quite into space, at least towards it.)
A laptop computer with an internet connection
, 3, in 5, 4 unch to la
Just like NASA scientist Margaret Hamilton, you too can write the code that launches a rocket into space.
show us your launch pics
A micro:bit (if you don’t have one, see if your local library has one you can borrow)
Ready
make your own... space rocket
For this activity you need:
Email it to sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk or tweet it to us at @TECgirls, and we’ll send you a TECgirls goodie bag with stickers, badges and more.
Colour in your rocket, cut it out, and glue it into shape
to write the launch code
Download the instruction sheet PDF
Follow the instructions Prepare for lift off!
to build the launcher
Space code pioneer Margaret Hamilton led the team who coded the navigation system for Apollo 11, the spacecraft that took the first humans to the moon. The code filled a stack of papers that was taller than her!
Download the launcher instruction sheet
Gather the materials and assemble the launcher 11
I WANT TO BE A... Space Scientist Inside the deep space mission control room at Goonhilly Earth Station
By Rachel Picken
Olivia Smedley is a space scientist at Goonhilly Earth Station, near Helston.
How can girls get into space science? Follow your passion and what you’re interested in! Also don’t be afraid of failing or making mistakes because you usually learn the most from those experiences. So don’t give up and, and do believe in yourself.
What is it like to work in space science? It’s my dream job - I absolutely love it. When I was young I had a telescope in the garden to look at the Moon and planets, which really inspired me to study it further. So I followed that passion
She tells us what her job is like, and why it’s important to follow your passion – especially if that’s in science and coding! What does your job involve? My day usually starts by making sure that all the antennas are working properly. If they aren’t, it’s my job to make sure things are fixed. I’ve also been doing some coding for the monitoring and control system on our largest satellite dish, Goonhilly 6.
And what were your favourite lessons at school? All the sciences. I studied A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. I also really liked art and the creative side of science. Creativity is really useful in my job as we often have to solve problems.
How long would it take to get to Mars? An American company called SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft. It will allow us to travel greater distances out in the solar system. With today’s technology, experts think it could take about six months to travel to Mars.
What do the satellite dishes do at Goonhilly? They let us communicate with satellites in orbit around the Earth. Goonhilly 6 will let us communicate with spacecraft travelling to the Moon, and even Mars. It’s important to know where spacecraft are and how healthy they are – especially if there are people on board!
Where can you get a job in the space industry? Find out more about space companies in Cornwall and beyond: Goonhilly Earth Station https://www.goonhilly.org
Wait, what? An antenna is an electronic device that sends or receives radio signals.
Wait, what? An object in orbit is travelling around a star, planet or moon.
Spaceport Cornwall https://spaceportcornwall.com
SpaceX and the Starship
https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/ 12
13
I WANT TO BE A... Space Scientist Inside the deep space mission control room at Goonhilly Earth Station
By Rachel Picken
Olivia Smedley is a space scientist at Goonhilly Earth Station, near Helston.
How can girls get into space science? Follow your passion and what you’re interested in! Also don’t be afraid of failing or making mistakes because you usually learn the most from those experiences. So don’t give up and, and do believe in yourself.
What is it like to work in space science? It’s my dream job - I absolutely love it. When I was young I had a telescope in the garden to look at the Moon and planets, which really inspired me to study it further. So I followed that passion
She tells us what her job is like, and why it’s important to follow your passion – especially if that’s in science and coding! What does your job involve? My day usually starts by making sure that all the antennas are working properly. If they aren’t, it’s my job to make sure things are fixed. I’ve also been doing some coding for the monitoring and control system on our largest satellite dish, Goonhilly 6.
And what were your favourite lessons at school? All the sciences. I studied A-levels in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths. I also really liked art and the creative side of science. Creativity is really useful in my job as we often have to solve problems.
How long would it take to get to Mars? An American company called SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft. It will allow us to travel greater distances out in the solar system. With today’s technology, experts think it could take about six months to travel to Mars.
What do the satellite dishes do at Goonhilly? They let us communicate with satellites in orbit around the Earth. Goonhilly 6 will let us communicate with spacecraft travelling to the Moon, and even Mars. It’s important to know where spacecraft are and how healthy they are – especially if there are people on board!
Where can you get a job in the space industry? Find out more about space companies in Cornwall and beyond: Goonhilly Earth Station https://www.goonhilly.org
Wait, what? An antenna is an electronic device that sends or receives radio signals.
Wait, what? An object in orbit is travelling around a star, planet or moon.
Spaceport Cornwall https://spaceportcornwall.com
SpaceX and the Starship
https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/ 12
13
HOW IT Works: GPS
Did you know? GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It's one of four global navigation satellite systems - the others are Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou.
GPS has become a huge part of our lives. People use it to know where they are and to find their way.
3 questions with Talini Jayawardena Pinto
You may have used it to play games like Pokémon GO. But have you ever wondered how it works?
Talini is a space scientist at Spirent in Devon. She studies the effect of space weather on GPS signals. How did you become interested in space? When I was 11, we did a school project about the night sky. I remember I looked up one night and I saw Jupiter. It made me realise how much more there is in the universe than just our own planet.
Radio signals enter the ionosphere, sometimes buffeted by electrical storms – aka ‘space weather’
8
co se
s nd
6
ds
n co e s
Your phone uses the
difference in each
How do you study space weather? I built an instrument called TOPCAT that was sent into space by the UK Space Agency. It measures the electron density of the ionosphere to help us understand more about space weather storms.
signal’s arrival time to
calculate your exact location
s
d on ec
7
5s
se co n
ds
24 GPS satellites orbit the Earth, 12,500 miles above our heads. They transmit their position via radio signals.
Wait, what? The ionosphere is the upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, starting about 60 miles above our heads. It’s full of electricity which often erupts into electrical storms.
What’s exciting about space? Lots of things! One is that satellites are sending more and more data that we can use for all kinds of things – from weather forecasting, to planning crops, to helping to rescue people after a natural disaster.
Game software plots your location on a map, and you’re ready to catch Pokémon!
14
15
HOW IT Works: GPS
Did you know? GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It's one of four global navigation satellite systems - the others are Galileo, GLONASS and BeiDou.
GPS has become a huge part of our lives. People use it to know where they are and to find their way.
3 questions with Talini Jayawardena Pinto
You may have used it to play games like Pokémon GO. But have you ever wondered how it works?
Talini is a space scientist at Spirent in Devon. She studies the effect of space weather on GPS signals. How did you become interested in space? When I was 11, we did a school project about the night sky. I remember I looked up one night and I saw Jupiter. It made me realise how much more there is in the universe than just our own planet.
Radio signals enter the ionosphere, sometimes buffeted by electrical storms – aka ‘space weather’
8
co se
s nd
6
ds
n co e s
Your phone uses the
difference in each
How do you study space weather? I built an instrument called TOPCAT that was sent into space by the UK Space Agency. It measures the electron density of the ionosphere to help us understand more about space weather storms.
signal’s arrival time to
calculate your exact location
s
d on ec
7
5s
se co n
ds
24 GPS satellites orbit the Earth, 12,500 miles above our heads. They transmit their position via radio signals.
Wait, what? The ionosphere is the upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, starting about 60 miles above our heads. It’s full of electricity which often erupts into electrical storms.
What’s exciting about space? Lots of things! One is that satellites are sending more and more data that we can use for all kinds of things – from weather forecasting, to planning crops, to helping to rescue people after a natural disaster.
Game software plots your location on a map, and you’re ready to catch Pokémon!
14
15
Puzzle PAge space quiz tecgirls
(Shhh... The answers are at the bottom.)
1. In which year did humans first land on the Moon?
6. What was the first manmade satellite called?
2. How many moons does Saturn have?
7. Who coded the navigation system for the Apollo 11 spacecraft?
3. Who is the comet 35/P Herschel-Rigollet named after?
8. What is a cosmonaut? 9. Which company is developing the Starship spacecraft?
4. What does the big satellite dish at Goonhilly Earth Station do?
10. What is the upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere called?
5. How many GPS satellites are there?
Word Finder
SATELLITE How many smaller words can you find inside this word:
(We’ll give you one to start with: SAT) We think we can find six… but can you beat our total?
A-maze-ing women of STEM NASA hires about 20 types of engineers. Michelle Easter is a mechatronics engineer. Michelle’s job is similar to robotics engineering. She adds electricity and computer code to machines so they can do awesome things.
Sentinel-6
Right now, she’s working on a satellite that will study Earth’s oceans. Can you help Michelle navigate through the maze to reach the Sentinel-6 satellite? Want to learn about women doing amazing things in engineering? Visit https://www.nasa.gov/education/ womenstem/women-in-engineering
Start here
(With thanks to NASA and Michelle for the maze!) Space Quiz Answers: 1. 1969 2. 82 3. Caroline Herschel 4. Deep space communications 5. 24 6. Sputnik 7. Margaret Hamilton 8. An astronaut trained by the Russian Space Agency 9. SpaceX 10. Ionosphere 16
17
Puzzle PAge space quiz tecgirls
(Shhh... The answers are at the bottom.)
1. In which year did humans first land on the Moon?
6. What was the first manmade satellite called?
2. How many moons does Saturn have?
7. Who coded the navigation system for the Apollo 11 spacecraft?
3. Who is the comet 35/P Herschel-Rigollet named after?
8. What is a cosmonaut? 9. Which company is developing the Starship spacecraft?
4. What does the big satellite dish at Goonhilly Earth Station do?
10. What is the upper layer of the Earth’s atmosphere called?
5. How many GPS satellites are there?
Word Finder
SATELLITE How many smaller words can you find inside this word:
(We’ll give you one to start with: SAT) We think we can find six… but can you beat our total?
A-maze-ing women of STEM NASA hires about 20 types of engineers. Michelle Easter is a mechatronics engineer. Michelle’s job is similar to robotics engineering. She adds electricity and computer code to machines so they can do awesome things.
Sentinel-6
Right now, she’s working on a satellite that will study Earth’s oceans. Can you help Michelle navigate through the maze to reach the Sentinel-6 satellite? Want to learn about women doing amazing things in engineering? Visit https://www.nasa.gov/education/ womenstem/women-in-engineering
Start here
(With thanks to NASA and Michelle for the maze!) Space Quiz Answers: 1. 1969 2. 82 3. Caroline Herschel 4. Deep space communications 5. 24 6. Sputnik 7. Margaret Hamilton 8. An astronaut trained by the Russian Space Agency 9. SpaceX 10. Ionosphere 16
17
more fun with tec
Want to have more fun with space-based tech? Here are some brilliant – and free – things to try.
Make a Star Wars video game A brilliant coding game from Code.org. If you’re new to coding, try the Blockly version – or if you’re superexperienced, have a go at the JavaScript version. https://code.org/starwars Build a Moon habitat Follow NASA’s instructions to build your own moonbase-like shelter. All you need are 148 sheets of newspaper, a pencil, tape, scissors, stapler… and a big space to build it in! https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-habitat/en/
Create a Space game in Scratch Create your very own 'Lost in Space' video game in Scratch. This video shows you how – then head to scratch.mit.edu to make your own. watch on youtube
Picture credit: NASA
until next time
Look out for the Autumn issue of Sandbox Magazine, where we'll be exploring how TEC can make the world a better place. In the meantime, if you have an idea or a message for us – or if you’d like to write something for Sandbox – we’d love to hear from you. Ask an adult to email us at sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk. Bye for now!
Show us how you got on! We’d love to see your project when it’s done! Ask an adult to share a picture with us on social media or email us at sandbox@tecgirls.co.uk.