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Raspberry Pi Foundation European Space Agency

The Astro Pi Computers

What is an Astro Pi computer?

An Astro Pi computer is a Raspberry Pi computer equipped with sensors and housed in a special case. Raspberry Pi is a very affordable credit-card-sized bare-bones computer, great for use in education.

Mark II hardware

The Astro Pi MK II computers are upgraded versions of the Astro Pi “Izzy” and Astro Pi “Ed” computers that were sent to the ISS during Tim Peake’s Principia mission in 2015.

These computers feature the latest model of the Raspberry Pi computer, an upgraded camera, and an augmented sensor board, as well as a machine learning accelerator. They enable participants to do a wide range of experiments, some of which were not previously possible, such as experiments using elements of artificial intelligence (advanced machine learning) and high-resolution photography.

The new Astro Pi computers were named after the two inspirational European scientists Nikola Tesla and Marie Skłodowska-Curie by Mission Zero participants in 2022. Read more about them in this article, The names of the new Astro Pi computers get revealed.

Astro Pi VIS

The Astro Pi VIS computer allows teams investigating life on Earth to do visible-light Earth observation photography.

The Astro Pi Vis in its flight case.

The Astro Pi sensors

The new Astro Pi computers contain a range of sensors that will allow Mission Space Lab teams investigating life on Earth and life in space to do a wider range of experiments than ever before.

Hardware

  • Raspberry Pi

    Raspberry Pi is a very affordable credit card sized bare-bones computer, great for use in education. The Astro Pi computers feature a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, the fastest, most powerful Raspberry Pi yet!

  • Sense HAT

    Raspberry Pi Sense HAT sits on top of the Raspberry Pi computer and includes a range of sensors, such as a gyroscope and temperature sensor. The Astro Pi computers feature a special Sense HAT, which includes a colour and luminosity sensor.

  • Raspberry Pi HQ Camera

    Both Astro Pi computers come with a Raspberry Pi HQ camera. The camera can be used to take high-definition video, as well as still photographs.

  • Flight case

    The flight cases for both new Astro Pi computers are made from 6063-grade aluminium. Only a small number of these cases have been produced, but you can 3D print your own case with the help of this project of 3D-Printed Astro Pi Mark II Flight Case.

  • Coral USB accelerator

    The Coral USB Accelerator allows teams to greatly accelerate machine learning tasks on the ISS like image classification and object detection.

  • The optical filter

    This MidOpt red filter is screwed into the HQ camera's sensor mounting to enable NDVI experiments to be performed.