Students at Science Olympiad Practiced Studying the Atmosphere of Venus

In the final round of the Estonian Science Olympiad held last Saturday, students prepared to study the habitability of Venus' atmosphere. The competition tasks were inspired by the sensors being developed at the Tartu Observatory of the University of Tartu for the international Venus research project Venus Life Finder (VLF).

In the final competition of the Science Olympiad, 45 primary school students invited from all over Estonia performed experiments to determine acidity and assess its effects in the study laboratories of Chemicum of the University of Tartu. In the experiment, students had to build an LED-based luminaire that could be used to excite the fluorescent pigment fluorescein. Then they determined the acidity of two unknown samples using this method.

"The tasks simulated the process we use for developing a sensor to differentiate the acidity of Venus cloud droplets at the Tartu Observatory," explained Mihkel Pajusalu, chairman of the jury. He is also the head of the space technology department at the UT Tartu Observatory and manages Estonia's participation in the VLF. For the safety of the students, the concentrated sulfuric acid droplets actually found in the clouds of Venus were left out of the final round of experiments. The second experiment examined how plants adapt in an acidic environment based on plant tissues.
The VLF is a set of missions designed to study the conditions in the clouds of Venus to see if life could exist there. The project is led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA. More about Estonia's participation can be read HERE. The mission is also unique in that it is led and funded mainly by private companies unlike conventional missions led by space agencies. For example, the feasibility study for the mission was funded by the Breakthrough Initiatives in the US. The acidity sensor, the conductivity sensor, and the oxygen sensor will be built for this project at the UT Tartu Observatory. Three missions are planned for VLF, the first of which will start in 2023. The sensors being developed at the University of Tartu should take off in 2026.

Rasmus Randmäe, a student of Gustav Adolf Gymnasium, had the most successful results in Saturday's final round. But Raul Pata from Gustav Adolf Gymnasium became the overall winner of the Estonian Science Olympiad since both the regional competition and the final round are summed up. In next place were Kirke Arukaevu, a student of Tallinn 21st School, and Ivan Ducat from Narva Language Lyceum. Jan Hendrik Järvemets from Pärnu May School won the youngest age group, i.e., the 7th grade. The results of the final and general competitions are published on the website of the University of Tartu Science School.

The Science Olympiad, held every academic year, is intended for 7th and 8th-grade students. Any student 15 or younger can also participate.
The Science Olympiad was funded by the Ministry of Education and Research and coordinated by the University of Tartu Science School. The main long-term sponsor of the competition is Graanul Invest. The competition is held in cooperation with the Research Laboratory of the University of Tartu and the Tartu Observatory. UT Tartu Observatory works with the space education of school students more broadly, for example, it participates in the joint project supporting general education, ESERO, organized between the European Space Agency (ESA) and local partners and organizes the Teadusmalev.

Additional information: Mihkel Pajusalu, Chairman of the Jury of the Estonian Science Olympiad, Head of the Space Technology Department of the Tartu Observatory of the University of Tartu, and Associate Professor of Space Technology, mihkel.pajusalu@ut.ee