The 2013 European CanSat Competition is now open. The deadline for teams to apply is midnight on Sunday 4 November 2012. This competition is organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), and is open to secondary school students.

A CanSat is a simulation of a real satellite, integrated within the volume and shape of a regular soft drink can.

The first CanSat competition was held in 1999 in United States and since then many competitions have taken place around the world and during recent years in Europe. Several ESA Member States as the Netherlands, France, Spain and Norway have recently initiated CanSat competitions for high school and university students.

The competition launch campaign is provisionally scheduled to take place at the end of April 2013 in the Netherlands. The competition is open to teams of 4 to 10 secondary school students (aged 16+) from ESA Member States, including Ireland, assisted by a teacher or tutor.

This year there are 20 launch slots available. The competition will be divided into two categories:

Beginners – for teams with no prior experience in building a CanSat

Advanced – for teams with some practical experience or technical background, able to undertake a more complex project.

For further details visit the competition site.

Or visit ESA CanSat 2012