Young Space Researchers will cather in Tõravere for Science Task Force

The Tartu Observatory of the University of Tartu announced the participants selected for the Science Task Force “Teadusmalev”. The summer research program for schoolchildren will focus on three space-related areas of research: astronomy, remote sensing, and space technology. The number of applicants for all of the subjects was relatively equal and applications were received from all over Estonia.

The participants in the astronomy program have expressed a desire to research black holes, galaxies, and the structure of the Universe. An applicant from the Kristjan Jaak Peterson Gymnasium in Tartu chose the field of space technology and laboratories because he wants to study the conditions necessary for sending a satellite or other device into space and to learn about the stages of designing a satellite. A participant from the Nõo Gymnasium wants to research programming in remote sensing because this field is so directly connected to our daily lives.

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The heads of the departments at the Tartu Observatory have started looking for supervisors for every participant chosen. Supervisors will communicate directly with the young person to select a more specific research topic. "It is very gratifying that so many young people are interested in science," said Antti Tamm, Director of the Tartu Observatory. "We hope that the research done at the Science Task Force will be the beginning of an exciting career for the participants." Elmo Tempel, a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, added that a well-conducted study could be used in future research articles and the student could thus become a co-author of the paper.

The Tartu Hansa Rotary Club has supported the Science Task Force for many years and will give out 15 scholarships for space-related research this year as well. The program provides substantive support and study materials as well as access to electronic laboratories for conducting experiments and remote sensing databases for analysis. At the end of the camp, each participant is expected to give a ten-minute presentation of their research.

This year's Science Task Force is taking place for the eighth time at the Tartu Observatory in Tõravere. The first Science Task Force took place in 2012 when students participated in the research work of the Estonian Student Satellite Program. Due to virus restrictions, the summer program did not take place for the last two years.

Additional information: Heli Lätt, Head of Visitor Centre and Head of ESERO Estonia, heli.latt@ut.ee