Winner of St Mary’s Astronaut Mission Patch Competition Announced

The research team working on the High Frequency Impulse of Microgravity (HIFIm) jump sled project at St Mary’s University Twickenham have announced the winner and runners-up of its schools’ mission patch competition.

The competition saw school pupils from across the country send in their designs for the Mission Patch that the HIFIm team will use as they take their research to the next stages, including parabolic (micro-gravity) test flights.

The team are investigating the use of the HIFIm jump sled in microgravity, a machine that will allow astronauts in space to use jumping as part of their physical exercise routine. Led by HIFIm creator and engineer John Kennett and Dr Dan Cleather of St Mary’s, the team will soon head to France to test the jump sled in microgravity during a parabolic flight campaign.

This is an important step in the research and will allow the team to see if the machine can create the same jump forces in microgravity as the jump force experienced on the Earth’s surface.

As part of this research, the team has developed an outreach plan to encourage school children interested in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects to pursue a career in science. As part of this work, and to mark the occasion of team’s first microgravity test campaign, the mission patch competition was launched, inviting entries from across the country.

Over 100 mission patches were entered into the competition with submissions coming from Primary School children all the way up to University level students.

Speaking of competition, John Kennett said, “Each submission showcased the wealth of talent here in the UK. There were so many colourful and creative mission patches that it was so hard to choose just one. It was great to see so many children get involved and show their passion for science and help us with our mission”

“The HIFIm research team want to congratulate everyone who entered the competition. Every entry was unique and displayed creativity and passion.”

The winning entry was submitted by 9-year-old Jessica Barry from St Francis School in Pewsey. The team said of Jessica’s design, ‘This entry colourfully showed the key goal for the research team: investigating jump exercise in space’. For winning the competition, Jessica will be sent one of the mission patches featuring her design and a T-shirt, also with her design.

Jason added, “The HIFIm research team, the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, St Mary’s University, and Physical Mind, London, all want to thank everyone who submitted a design. Your creativity and passion have inspired us all.”

Winner

Runners-up