Pupils from Croydon High School who are trying to become the first in the world from an all-girls school to design, build and launch a satellite into space, have reached another stellar milestone after showcasing their research at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
Examing the science: a long-term school project, Mission Pegasus, is seeing pupils at Croydon High developing essential skills
Last week, the school’s Astrogazers Physics Club presented research demonstrating how sunlight can be used to monitor atmospheric pollution from space – work that forms part of Mission Pegasus, the pupils’ ambitious satellite programme.
As part of Mission Pegasus, pupils have been working with the University of Bath and Spirent Communications to investigate how changes in sunlight intensity and wavelength can be used to monitor atmospheric particles and air quality, through the Royal Society Partnership Grants Scheme.
This year, that work resulted in the Royal Society inviting Croydon High to take an stand at their summer exhibition, attended by some of the world’s most eminent scientists.
At the exhibition, the pupils showed how they had carried out investigations to monitor pollution using different wavelengths of visible light. In a controlled dark-box experiment, pupils introduced smoke particles to simulate increasing levels of air pollution and measured how different wavelengths of visible light behaved.
Their findings showed that as particulate levels increased, light intensity decreased, demonstrating how sunlight can provide valuable information.
Building on this work, the team designed and developed an autonomous light sensor suitable for use aboard a CubeSat. They successfully tested this on an experimental aircraft to verify its functionality.
The pupils will continue their research by measuring sunlight at different times of day to explore how atmospheric conditions affect light intensity across different wavelengths.
Professor Cathryn Mitchell, of the University of Bath, said: “One of the best things about working with Croydon High School is seeing the girls take control of the project and drive it forward.
“The pupils in Astrogazers have a very ambitious aim to have their own satellite in space, and they are willing to put the work in to follow all the steps to make that happen.”
Croydon High teacher Arabi Karteepan, the school’s head of physics who established the Astrogazers club, told Inside Croydon: “One of the most significant highlights of Mission Pegasus was observing the extent of pupil growth.
“Pupils developed not only strong technical knowledge and practical skills, but also a wide range of transferable skills, including leadership, communication, and project management. Seeing pupils become confident and capable was particularly rewarding and demonstrated the long-term impact of the project.”
Arabi Karteepan went Under The Flyover to be interviewed about Croydon High’s Astrogazers physics club and their satellite project for our podcast. Under The Flyover podcasts are premium content which is free to Inside Croydon subscribers: you can listen here via our Spotify platform
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