Out of this world students

Cork enjoyed success of cosmic proportions recently as students from two Leeside schools secured spots at the national final of a mini satellite-building competition.

Team Space Z from Douglas Community School and Team CosmicSat from Ashton will take on teams from around the country at the ESERO Ireland CanSat competition final taking place in Co. Laois today (Thursday) and tomorrow.

The competition is a European Space Agency initiative that challenges secondary school students to design, build, and launch their own mini satellite designed to fit within the confines of a beverage can.

Team Space Z secured their place at the national final following strong performances at the Cork regional competition, hosted at MTU Cork. Meanwhile, Team CosmicSat was selected as a wildcard finalist, based on the next highest overall score across all regional finals.

At the final, students will launch their CanSat devices via rocket, collect real-time data during descent, and present their findings to a panel of expert judges. The winning Irish team will go on to represent Ireland at a European event hosted by the European Space Agency.

Speaking ahead of the final, Áine Flood, Manager at ESERO Ireland, outlined the high level of challenge faced by the teams.

She said: “Participating teams are set a really challenging technical brief – to fit a satellite’s key parts, like power, sensors, and communication systems, into a beverage can.

“At the national final, each CanSat must measure air pressure and air temperature during descent and transmit the data to a computer for analysis and presentation.

“Teams must quickly analyse the data, interpret it in a meaningful way, and present their findings to our judging panel,” added Ms Flood.

CanSat is widely recognised as one of the most advanced STEM competitions for secondary school students, offering hands-on experience in electronics and programming, data analysis, engineering design, and Scientific communication.

Participants gain real insight into careers in the space sector, with many past students progressing into engineering and space-related roles.

Niamh Shaw, national coordinator for CanSat Ireland, said: “The level of innovation, teamwork and technical ability shown by students this year has been exceptional.

“Competitions like CanSat give young people a real opportunity to experience what a career in space and engineering looks like — not just in theory, but in practice.

“We’re incredibly proud to see a team from Cork representing their region on a national stage,” she added.

Schools interested in participating in the 2026/2027 CanSat programme can find more information at: esero.ie/projects/cansat.