MiniBlog: Space Engineering Controller Build Challenge
- 16th Jun 2026
Join us for a new series of #MiniBlogs - short reads which give you an insight into just what the National Space Academy gets up to!
Today, one of our amazing Lead Physics Practitioners, Pete Wesson, is here with our very first #MiniBlog about a recent space challenge we set for our Space Engineering students. Pete, tell us more...
Students on the National Space Academy and Loughborough College Space Engineering course were challenged with designing, building and programming a controller to perform a space related task.
The teams came up with a range of brilliant ideas, from automated rover controllers to asteroid detection systems. Including solar tracking systems for solar panels and automated environmental control systems for space craft.
The students were asked to produce a product poster to explain how they had met the brief and the design choices they had made and to create a working prototype.
Here are some of the examples of their fantastic work, which they recently showcased at Loughborough College.
