Deadline extended – submit your Hack an Exoplanet project until 29 June
In brief
Submission deadline extended until the 29 June 2023.
Calling all exoplanet detectives to join in with ESA Education’s first ever hackathon activities for secondary school students! Transform yourselves into space detectives as you analyse data from ESA's Cheops satellite to unravel the mysteries of two distant exoplanets. Don't miss your chance to win the Best Project Prize and meet Physics Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz.
In-depth
In January 2023, ESA’s Cheops (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) observed two exoplanet targets, KELT-3b and TOI-560c. Now, through ESA Education’s Hack an Exoplanet activity, teams of students have the unique opportunity to become real space scientists. Like a true astronomer, you will gain access to satellite data collected by Cheops and analyse it to uncover the appearance and characteristics of these distant worlds. This special activity is tailored for students aged 14 to 19 years old.
Join a hackathon, organise your own event, or complete the activities in your own time. You can also follow along with the activity by watching the recording of the ESA Education virtual hackathon. Let our team of experts lead you on a galactic journey to explore Cheops' data, and reveal the size, orbital period and distance, habitability potential, and composition of these fascinating exoplanets.
Online and physical hackathons have also been taking place across the world, supported by schools, ESERO offices and other organisations. You can even host your own hackathon at your school! The hackathon activities and Cheops’ satellite data are freely available and translated into 21 languages on the Hack an Exoplanet platform. Start your challenge here: https://hackanexoplanet.esa.int/challenges/
The hackathon activities typically require around 3 hours to complete and are accessible to all students. As extra support, we provide classroom activities that you can complete with your student teams in advance, effectively preparing them for the exciting hackathon experience. We have also compiled a variety of inspirational resources for educators to engage students in STEM subjects using the fascinating topic of exoplanets as the learning context, including classroom resources, videos with experts, a quiz, the opportunity to pose a question to a space expert and much more.
After teams complete the hackathon activities, they can now submit their project until 29 June 2023. For a chance to win the Best Project Prize, teams can submit their scientific report about the exoplanet TOI-560c. The winning teams will receive ESA goodies, as well as the opportunity to participate in a webinar with Physics Nobel Laureate Didier Queloz, on 17 July 2023. This activity is recommended for students between 14 and 19 years old in secondary education.
Hack an Exoplanet is an educational activity developed by ESA Education in collaboration with the ESA Science directorate, with support from members of the Cheops Mission Consortium and the ESERO network.
Fast facts
Age range: 14+
Keywords: Exoplanets, Mathematics, Physics, Computing, Data analysis
Cheops: ESA’s Cheops (CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite) is a satellite that studies known exoplanets in-depth. Its mission is to observe known exoplanets and characterise them by looking at the dip of stellar light caused by the planets’ transit of their host stars.
To join this space detective challenge and hack an exoplanet, visit our new platform.