Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The Ariane 6 rocket, launching next Tuesday, will carry an experiment by Belgian students, marking the first European secondary school payload in orbit. The mission aims to measure Earth’s magnetic field and radiation, aiding astronaut safety.
The Ariane 6 rocket, which pushes its maiden flight on Tuesday next, will hold an experiment designed by students from Sint-Pieters College in Brussels and the Institut VallĂ©e Bailly in Braine-l’Alleud, the European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed. This will commemorate the first time that European secondary school students project a payload into orbit aboard a rocket, according to the ESA.Â
How Will Ariane 6’s Maiden Flight Benefit Science?
Ariane 6 will carry several missions, including the Peregrinus task, named after Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt, a French student from the Middle Ages who examined magnetism. This Belgian scientific mission seeks to measure the correlation between the Earth’s magnetic field and the power of hard X-rays and soft gamma rays.
How Will Ariane 6’s Mission Aid Astronaut Safety?
Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 580 km, Peregrinus will deliver data on the impact of solar activity and radiation eschelon in the Earth’s magnetic field, ESA said. According to the agency, better familiarity with this area will make it feasible to assess the radiation hazards for astronauts on the Moon or en route to Mars.
“Every 10 seconds, we will receive a note containing 10 seconds of data on the radiation hitting our detector (installed on the rocket) and on the Earth’s magnetic field,” Erik De Schrijver, science teacher at Sint-Pieters College in Jette and head of the Peregrinus project, presents.
What Data Will Peregrinus Collect During Ariane 6’s Flight?
The experiment will also profit from raw positioning data supplied by the satellite network and Ariane 6. This magnetic data transmission will persist until it is interrupted by the re-entry of the rocket’s upper step into the atmosphere. “Thanks to all this information, we should be able to obtain an interesting picture of the high-energy radiation that strikes the Earth’s magnetic field,” states Erik De Schrijver.
What Significance Does Ariane 6 Hold for European Students?
For the ESA, this mission demonstrates that with dedication and hard work, high school pupils can reach orbit and help stimulate the space ambitions of other kids and young people across Europe. The Belgian pupils are the first European high school students to undertake a payload into orbit on board a rocket, the Agency points out.
“This possibility to take part in the maiden flight of Ariane 6 is amazing for our students,” states the head of the Peregrinus project. He hopes this will build momentum for more ambitious and experimental space education projects for European students of all levels.
“Ariane 6 – a little step for mankind, a giant leap for us,” states Lore De Becker, from Sint-Pieterscollege “Understanding that, as high school students, we were able to recreate a tiny role in a drive as complex as the launch of the new Ariane 6? It’s a unique occasion and we’re grateful to have been part of it,” adds the 18-year-old.
