The Lyceum of Pelopion, near Olympia, won the first prize in the Co-evolution of life Category with the project ‘Exoplants’. The ‘Exoplants’ team consisted of Efstathios Biritis, Eleni Chrisikopoulou, Antigoni Georgiopoulou, Ioannis Kakalis and Dimitra Koufi.
Ioannis Chiotelis, teacher of Physics, was their coach.
Brief description of the project
In the not distant future, man will seek to establish colonies on other planets. Plants as producers bind luminous energy and produce glucose and carbohydrates. Photosynthesis is the basis of the food pyramid. What happens on a planet without enough light?
The students proved that in such an environment all plants will be white.
About the Odysseus Project
Odysseus is a European project, co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme, in the Space area for “Studies and events in support of European Space Policy”.
Space exploration advances our knowledge, allows us to understand and protect our planet better and provides the opportunity to discover the answers to fundamental questions about the history of Earth, the origin of life, the Solar System and the Universe. In other words space exploration is pushing forward the limits of our knowledge and is engaging and inspiring the public in the “New Frontier”.
The Odysseus project aims exactly at engaging and inspiring the European youth in the “New Frontier”, by implementing a pan-European Scientific Contest for young people on Space exploration themes, combining creativity, intelligence and innovation.
The project, which started on 1st November 2011 and lasted for 18 months, aspired to integrate ongoing educational activities on science in a pan-European perspective, providing the opportunity for young pupils to compete with their peers from different European countries.
This action is also enhancing the concept of multinational cooperation, an element necessary in space exploration field. All participants are between 14 to 18 years old and in order to submit their entry have to create a collaborative team, which would design and demonstrate an innovative project in one of the contest’s themes.
The total budget of Odysseus project is € 335,000, with approximately € 300,000 financing by the European Commission.
The Prize
The three winning teams plus the most favourable team of the participants’ voting win a four- day educational trip to Germany and the Netherlands. The members of the four teams, including their coaches, have the chance to:
• visit the European Astronaut Centre in Portz-Wahn near Köln, Germany
• enjoy a tour in the astronauts training facilities
• meet with astronauts
• learn all about the selection, recruitment and training of ESA’s astronauts for space missions.
The winners also visit the Space Expo, in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where they experience the simulated launch and landing of the Soyuz spacecraft, explore the International Space Station’s Columbus laboratory, and find out about astronauts and how they live and work in space. In addition the winning teams visit the European Space Research and Technology Centre of ESA, where satellites are tested before launch. Winners get the chance to see the various labs where this happens, including the shaker table that recreates the earthquake-like vibration of a rocket launch.
Finally, the winning teams take part in the awards ceremony that takes place in the premises of Space Expo. All travel and accommodation expenses are paid by the Odysseus contest.
The Odysseus contest challenges students between 14 and 18 years old from all EU countries to develop a project on space exploration, using their knowledge, creativity and critical thinking.
Participating students form a team of 2 to 5 members, with a teacher as a coach and prepare and submit a project in one of the contest’s categories: i) Solar System, ii) Spaceship – global cooperation and iii) Co-evolution of life. The entry must be digital, it may take the form of any digital file and could include a project worksheet in the format provided by the organizers and describing the background thinking of the project.
All entries are assessed and scored on scientific knowledge, practical implementation and creativity by highly experienced evaluators, according to predefined Evaluation Criteria. Three entries per country – one for each category –are chosen to move forward to the final round of evaluation. Teams that advance to the final round submit a summary of their project in English. In the final round the winners are selected and win a once-in-a-lifetime educational experience in Space Expo in the Netherlands
All the winners
Gymnasium Hubeneho of Bratislava, Slovakia
First place in the Solar System Category
Project: “An Abundance Comparison and Distribution of C, S, O and noble gasses He, Ar and Ne in the Atmosphere of Jupiter”
Pelopium Lyceum, Greece
First place in the Co-evolution of life Category
Project: “What colour would plants have on another planet?”
Bay House School, UK
First place in the Spaceship – Global cooperation Category
Project: “INTERcore”
