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PRESS RELEASE

ARTEMIS Open Space Programme Press Release – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARTEMIS Open Space Programme paves the way for Civil Society to enter Space

18 December 2013, Manchester, UK

Today marks the launch of the ARTEMIS Open Space Programme, which aims to revolutionize the way we access space through developing a citizen science initiative that is open to everyone.

ARTEMIS Space, a new startup company, is behind the programme, and seeks to create opportunities for young people and adults to participate in a number of space missions, using space science as a platform for acquiring new knowledge and skills, and increase public understanding in the role that space plays in our everyday lives. Supported by a number of international partners, organisations and space agencies, the ARTEMIS Open Space Programme will bring educational workshops to community groups across the world, and will facilitate challenges and competitions to motivate public participation in finding solutions to today’s pressing social challenges.

The ARTEMIS Open Space Programme is an initiative which has its roots within the private space sector. ARTEMIS Space is a member of Team Synergy Moon, one of the 22 teams competing in the Google Lunar X PRIZE, where teams are competing in an international contest to safely land a rover on the surface of the Moon and create a new “Apollo” moment to spur continuous space exploration.

The projects within the ARTEMIS Open Space Programme have been developed to reach out to support young people and adults with a focus on supporting STEM education and skills (Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering), with a special emphasis on reaching communities in deprived regions for wider economic and social impact. Using the “Citizen Science” approach, the public will have the opportunity to act as scientists and participate as crew members for forthcoming missions to explore space by working alongside scientists and engineers, participate in scientific research, and contribute to new discoveries. The ARTEMIS Open Space Programme will also play an integral role in contributing to the management of natural disasters and sustainable development to lift the world’s most vulnerable out of poverty.

Sotira Trifourki, ARTEMIS Space CEO comments “The benefits of space include monitoring our environment, research into improving our health and transport systems, and developing technology which can fuel innovation and create jobs to boost our economy. The possibilities are endless.”

The ARTEMIS Open Space Programme has developed a number of projects and missions to engage the public through a variety of ways:

Mission to the Moon : Lander and Operated Rovers

The Tesla Lunar Lander and Rovers

As a part of the Google Lunar X PRIZE we have designed the Tesla Surveyor whose mission is to successfully travel 500 meters over the lunar surface, and send images and data back to the Earth. Members of the public have the opportunity to join the mission and act as “Mission Crew Members” to work alongside space scientists and engineers in steering the mission.

The Tesla Surveyor is a spherical rover, designed as a virtual excursion vehicle. Equipped with twin high definition video cameras for stereoscopic vision, the Tesla Surveyor will take viewers on a trip across the surface of the moon.

The Tesla Prospector is a more traditional 4 wheeled rover, designed as a virtual prospector, with sensors and cameras to examine the environment and identify the mineral content of the rocks and lunar regolith. The Tesla Prospector Rover will also be equipped with twin cameras for stereoscopic vision. Both rovers feature an internet based control system that will allow scientists and the public to take control of the rovers for an excursion on the moon.

Both the Telsa Prospector and Surveyor will be capable of autonomous operations, able to take care of themselves and carry out exploration missions on their own, saving their observations for later transmission to earth or streaming near real time video of their adventures. The Tesla Prospector will also carry a set of micro-robots, that will carry out specialized scientific and artistic projects.

ARTEMIS SmallSat Constellation

A fleet of 70 micro-satellites will be the world’s largest fleet of satellites and space telescopes, providing timely imagery and access to near real time HD video of Earth and Space. The satellite fleet will provide numerous applications for monitoring the Earth and it’s local environment through an “Open Data Network”. The ARTEMIS SmallSat Constellation has the capabilities to act as a network of orbiting Space Observatories where a number of satellites will act as Space Telescopes, allowing users to access a range of data whilst providing opportunities for citizens to access space for dedicated personal use, allowing users to control their own satellite and send their ideas, creative artwork, music and experiments into Space.

Users can take images, access live streams from space in HD in near real time, design and conduct their own experiments, make observations with the telescopes, download and process data, and use the telecoms systems for sending messages to their friends. Users can even take “Selfies” and upload their images to the micro-satellites. The onboard cameras will capture the image of users Selfies against the background of Space and the Earth and will send the Selfie back to it’s user, creating a truly unique, once in a lifetime message.

Users will also be able to access the micro-satellites as a real time research facility whilst making discoveries that will benefit the whole of humanity. Through providing high-resolution imagery of the Earth, the data gathered will have the potential to assist in addressing the challenges which we face today such as environmental, humanitarian and monitoring of hazardous objects such as asteroids. The ARTEMIS Website has a built in online training portal where users can login and learn how to use their own personal satellite.

The ARTEMIS Smallsat Constellation Programme will support a wide range of applications including:

Earth Observation
Space Weather
Protecting the Environment
Detecting Near Earth Objects
Climate Change
Monitoring the Marine Environment
e-Health
Transport
Land and deforestation monitoring
Emergency Management and Security
Sustainable Development

The Overview Effect

The first images of Earth from Space transformed our understanding of our home planet, giving us the sense of amazement and empathy to consider our fragile environment. Through participating in the ARTEMIS SmallSat Constellation project the images and data gathered will allow people to access the views which astronauts have seen from Space and to feel connected to the rest of the Universe. Current films like Gravity with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock capitalise on real footage taken of the Earth from Space by NASA, bringing the Overview Effect to a large audience.

Launches for the Tesla Space Telescope and ARTEMIS Smallsat Constellation are scheduled for Spring 2014.

Send your experiment into Space!

To date low cost access to space is allowing more people to be motivated to build their own micro-satellite to send it into space. School groups, universities to students and hobby enthusiasts are participating in building and launching their own satellite. We aim to help these groups access space through providing the opportunity to fly their payloads on our SmallSats fleet, cutting the cost of launch and buying expensive components and widening the scope for more people to participate in space missions, truly democratizing space. Each telescope and satelllite within the ARTEMIS SmallSats fleet has a suite of sensors which can be steered by the public to invent and create their own experiments, developing applications and testing them out using the SmallSats, giving each person individual control of the SmallSats, for a set period of time.

Cosmos Mobile Science and Technology Centre

A mobile “museum”, the Cosmos Mobile Science and Technology Centre, will act as a platform for engaging the public, and taking demonstrative technologies and education workshops out to communities. It will also be able to broadcast live transmissions from space through the ARTEMIS planetarium which is a 360 degree fulldome immersive cinema system and 3D theatre.

Live feeds from Space will also be made available to Science Museums and Planetaria worldwide, which will act as a resource for inquiry-based learning and real-time training to equip learners of all ages with the 21st Century skills needed for today’s challenges.

ARTEMIS Education Programme

The ARTEMIS Education Programme will provide a range of interactive workshops, activities and resources in the form of Enrichment Days, Science Clubs, Maker Hubs, Immersive theatre, support for teacher training, and community events linked into the national curriculum and informal learning. We are collaborating with a number of global partners to develop a programme that will push our boundaries of current knowledge and take us to new frontiers. An Ambassador and Mentor programme will support young people in schools through peer to peer support. Space industry professionals and students volunteer their time and apply their expertise to act as role models and give advice on career routes into STEM subjects. The ARTEMIS Education Programme will be working with SEDS Earth, the global organisation for Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, to develop and implement competitions and challenges to support young people’s aspirations for getting involved in space related activities and increase numbers of students entering space careers :

Model Rocketry Competitions
Optical and Radio Telescope building
Robotics
Nanosatellites and Cansat competitions
Space Habitat Challenges
Sustainable Development and Protecting the Earth Challenges
Space Camps
Space Academy
Field Trips to NASA and ESA facilities

Teacher Training

A teacher training programme to support teachers and science educators deliver inspirational space and astronomy context aligned with the national curriculum has been developed with a number of international partners and science teaching committees (Institute of Physics, Association for Science Education, European Schoolsnet, European Association for Astronomy Education). Teachers spend a great deal of time and effort searching for inspirational learning resources and teaching materials. Teachers are still finding it difficult to attend training courses during school time to support their gain of new skills and enhance their teaching methods. The ARTEMIS Teacher Training Programme will focus on creating a virtual repository of resources aimed at age range and ability, along with delivering INSET (In School Service Training) and CPD (Career Professional Development) sessions to teachers in their localities, making it easier for teachers to access training support, along with accessing the ARTEMIS online training portal through our website.

EUREKA International Science and Education Fair

The EUREKA International Science and Education Fair allows students to use authentic research practices to create innovative solutions to real-world problems, encouraging young people to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. No matter how simple or complicated the investigation the Eureka experience takes students to a level beyond just memorising facts. Having learned to work collaboratively, solve problems and communicate and present their ideas they will be more likely to leave school equipped with the necessary skills to become the innovators of tomorrow.

Eureka aims to encourage a love of science through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning and to provide a forum for students at local/regional level to present, display and communicate their scientific investigations. Lectures on exciting areas of science, less-formal laboratory demonstrations and hands-on activities as well as science career advice are also provided by participating colleges and Universities. Projects are evaluated and national winners are selected to represent the EUREKA Fair at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) which is held annually in May in the US.