Space ecosystem in the Azores must be autonomic endeavour, emphasises Paulo Estêvão - Communication

Secretário Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Comunidades

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, defended Saturday night in Santa Maria that the Azores' space ecosystem must be an "autonomic and non-partisan endeavour."

Speaking in Vila do Porto, at the closing session of the second edition of CanSat Junior Azores, he emphasised that we are beginning to see "very significant results" in this area, some 20 years after the subject arrived in the Azorean Parliament shrouded in the "disbelief" of some. 

"The important aspect is that this spirit of unity over an Azorean space ecosystem will be maintained and that we are united in the great goal of developing this industry. We will wait and see. We could have good news in the coming months," he added.

Regarding CanSat Junior, Paulo Estêvão praised the work of the teachers and students, highlighting their "commitment and enthusiasm" during the days spent in Santa Maria.

"Congratulations to everyone on the level achieved," he said, addressing all the teams and, also, the organisers - the event was won by youngsters from a class in Madalena, Pico, who will now take part in the national CanSat Junior event in Bragança.

CanSat Junior Azores saw the participation of 13 teams from seven islands of the archipelago, involving about a hundred students and teachers.

This event is part of the Dissemination, Education and Scientific Culture for Space priority axis of the Azores Strategy for Space, as an area of intervention to create generations of Azoreans attentive to the STEM sector (science, technology, engineering and maths), directly or indirectly linked to the space sector, contributing to meet the demands in terms of qualifications required by the sector and the growth of the space ecosystem in the Azores.

CANSAT Junior Açores is an initiative organised by the Regional Government in partnership with the Portuguese delegation of the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO Portugal), Ciência Viva - National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture, and the Portuguese Space Agency - Portugal Space, with the support of various local, national and international organisations.

A CANSAT is a microsatellite the size of a soft drink can - the name comes from the word can, "CAN," and the abbreviation "SAT" for satellite.

In this competition, students are challenged to integrate all the basic systems of a satellite into this small volume, namely its antenna (transmitter), battery and sensors.