Australian Virtual Astronaut Challenge

We are excited to announce that our school is participating in the Australian Virtual Astronaut (AVA) Challenge, which is a unique STEM design sprint based on challenges facing NASA's Artemis and the Australian space industry. The challenge will require students to use their knowledge of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to design innovative solutions to real-world problems.

The AVA Challenge involves a nine-step design sprint that requires teams to choose from five different scenarios, including Earth Observation, Robotics, Home on the Moon, Growing Food in Space, and A.I. in Space. Each team will need to design a solution that addresses the challenges presented in the scenario they choose. The solutions will be presented in the form of either a 90-second video pitch or a poster.

The scenarios in the AVA Challenge have been provided by esteemed organizations such as The University of Arizona, the Australian Space Agency, the Aldrin Family Foundation, and Magnitude.io. This provides students with a unique opportunity to work on real-world problems and come up with creative solutions that could help advance our understanding of space and the technologies required to explore it.

We encourage all students to participate in this exciting challenge, as it will provide a great opportunity for them to use their STEM skills and showcase their creativity. We hope that this challenge will inspire students to pursue careers in STEM-related fields and become the next generation of space explorers.

Thank you for your continued support of our school's STEM program.  If you are interested in this challenge, please let Mr Warner (wwarner@pacluth.qld.edu.au) know asap.

Mr Wes Warner, Head of Innovation, Entrepreneurialism and Business