The LDC has a diameter of 8 m and can generate hypergravity environments from 1 to 20g due to the...
Due to the distance between the students, the pandemic and Brexit, the students were only able to meet once after the summer school and all saw each other for the second time at the SYT! campaign, which had been postponed to accommodate the delays incurred.
Setting up an experiment can be challenging; it does not always work out like you envisioned it.
As a result, they had to re-assess their experiment and what they would focus on.
While their experiment not yielding the results they intended to collect, the students still learned a great deal.
"I have learned a lot about myself and about how to design an experiment" said one of the students.
On the last day, a team member said, "This was my first hands-on experiment during my studies, and I learned a lot." The campaign itself has concluded but the work has not, there is still a lot of work to be done.
The data that was collected during the hypergravity experiment need to be analysed and documented.
The employees working at the LDC and at ESA Academy enjoy working with the students and watching their projects grow from initial designs through to completion, and publication.
"Every year, Spin Your Thesis! students are eager to perform top-quality science experiments on this state-of-the-art centrifuge", said Nigel Savage, Programme Coordinator for university student experiments.
"Students will sometime encounter challenges and difficulties that also occur in every day working life and these have to be surmounted to reach the end goal. Noahs Arc were faced with a deluge of issues. We are confident that their first 'professional' encounter was positive for them and that they will pursue their career in research."