Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1055420
COMMERCIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 NOVEMBER 2018 21 Space for all THE Malta Council for Sci- ence and Technology (MCST) within the Parliamentary Secretariat for Financial Ser- vices, Digital Economy and Innovation cooperated with Esplora and the European Space Agency (ESA) on a space-related event entitled Space for All: Observing Earth from Space. The event, was held at Es- plora National Interactive Science Centre, Kalkara on Friday. The initiative is part of the Space Education Pro- gramme funded through MCST's National Space Fund and supported by ESA and the Ministry of Education and Employment. Space for All, which was attended by 230 second- ary school students, was an opportunity to learn more about the benefits brought about by satellites observing the Earth. Amongst other activities, the event featured hands-on workshops that helped appreciate the sig- nificance of satellite imagery over Malta in a fun and excit- ing way. The event also included a special edition space-related planetarium film in Esplo- ra's full dome Colour Space 4K theatre system. The film journeyed into the Interna- tional Space Station's role in the development of various commodities that each and every one of us uses in our daily lives. It exposed how many things learned in space are already benefiting life right here on Earth. Attendees also had the op- portunity to meet Maltese researchers working in the sector, as well as experts from the European Space Agency. The Executive Chairman of the Malta Council for Sci- ence and Technology, Jef- frey Pullicino Orlando pub- licly launched MCST's Space Education Programme at the start of this event. He said that "for the first time in Malta, this programme brings space-related extra- curricular activities devel- oped by the European Space Agency to local schools." The CanSat Malta Compe- tition and the AstroPi chal- lenge, which are amongst such activities, are now open to all Maltese students. A CanSat is a simulation of a satellite that fits in a soft drink can. Such student-built devices are then launched to an altitude of a few hun- dred metres by a rocket and transmit mission data as they descent by parachute. The similarly exciting AstroPi challenge is a coding activity where student-written code is run on the International Space Station. Education minister Evar- ist Bartolo said that space education was important as it helps people better un- derstand the world we live in. "This is because the data provided by satellites observ- ing the Earth is relevant to various sectors," he said. A message specially record- ed for this occasion by ESA astronaut Tim Peake encour- aged the Maltese public to make the most of the space- related opportunities made available through ESA and the Malta Council for Sci- ence and Technology. He encouraged researchers and start-up companies to ven- ture into the ever-growing downstream space sector and make the most of MCST's Space Research Fund. He also encouraged students to explore the wonderful world of space applications through Malta's Space Edu- cation Programme, which is closely supported by the Eu- ropean Space Agency. For further information re- lated to the Space Educa- tion Programme, please visit http://mcst.gov.mt/space-di- rectorate/sep/