Mission Space Lab
Mission Space Lab offers teams of young people the chance to run scientific experiments on board the International Space Station.
Registration is open from Monday 8 September 2025 to Monday 16 February 2026.
- Age 19 and under
- Teams of 2-6
- Supervised by a mentor
Age 19 and under
Supervised by a mentor
How to take part
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Check the eligibility criteria
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Mentors sign up and register their teams
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Teams write and test their programs
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Mentors submit their teams’ programs.
What is Mission Space Lab?
Mission Space Lab challenges teams to write computer programs that solve a scientific task in space by gathering data to calculate the speed at which the International Space Station (ISS) is travelling as accurately as possible.
Teams must write a program in Python that captures data from the Astro Pi computers’ sensors or camera about the orientation and motion of the ISS as it orbits the Earth. Then the program must use this data to calculate the speed of the ISS in kilometres per second (km/s).
Eligible programs will be deployed on the ISS. Successful teams receive certificates with the exact coordinates their program ran on the ISS, plus a unique set of data and images captured by their programs in space!
To calculate the speed of the ISS, young people will need to learn about some scientific concepts and about the ISS itself. Our short video with ESA Astronaut Rosemary Coogan explains more:
Who can take part?
Mission Space Lab is suitable for young people who have some coding experience. You’ll solve a real problem in space, using a program you write using Python.
Teams can use any macOS, Microsoft Windows, or Linux computer to write and test their Python program. The team must test their programs online using the “Astro Pi Replay Tool”, which works on Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox browsers.
We do not provide Astro Pi computers for this challenge. But you can use your own Raspberry Pi computer to write and test the program using the Astro Pi Replay plugin for Thonny.
Why take part?
Taking part in the Astro Pi Mission Space Lab enables young people to learn about the ISS, about gathering and using data to answer a scientific question, and about creating and troubleshooting a computer program. They also have the exciting opportunity to capture Earth Observation images and data from space to keep!
We asked some Mission Space Lab participants how they feel about the challenge and why it’s important to them.
“Astro Pi helped me to be creative and think about ways to use the devices and resources on board the ISS. It was really fun and I learned a lot about the ISS itself. The Astro Pi challenge motivated me to continue coding lessons in school and someday make computer science a part of my life.” Alexandra, Team ISS Girls, age 16
“We had a great time working on Astro Pi. It strengthened our bonds of friendship as collaboration and teamwork are required to achieve this unique goal. We recommend Astro Pi to everybody who is interested in space to take part in this challenge. All difficulties you will encounter will finally turn into benefits as you are going to learn how to overcome them. Don’t be afraid to be part of such an adventure — take your chance to become a space scientist!” Team LAZOS22
"We want students to use their digital skills as superpowers to make the world a better place, and this challenge really aligns with that because regardless of your race, your ethnicity, your gender, you can write some code that actually runs in space. And if you can do that… you can solve the big problem[s] that the adults of the world are still grappling with, so it's opening up opportunities." Mentor, 2024
What can mentors do to help?
Register teams
Mentors can register their teams from 8 September 2025 until 16 February 2026. Each mentor will receive a unique team ID for each team they register, which they need for submitting the team's finished program.
Write and test programs
Teams write Python programs to accurately estimate the ISS's speed in their preferred integrated development environment (IDE). Our project guide helps create the program, but does not provide step-by-step instructions to solve the problem.
To test their programs, they upload them to the Astro Pi Replay Tool. The tool simulates their program's run based on historical data from previous Astro Pi missions, and gives the team a simulated output of real data captured from the ISS, including some amazing images.
Checklist for programs
Each program needs to meet some key criteria so it can be safely run on the Astro Pis on board the ISS. You can find the program checklist here, to make sure a team's program is ready to be submitted.
Submit teams' programs
Mentors submit a team's completed and tested program using the unique team ID.
If your team gets flight status, we’ll send you a certificate and your data set captured from the ISS. Your teams will also be invited to attend a live virtual Q&A session with an astronaut.
Planning a Mission Space Lab program
The Mission Space Lab creator guide gives young people an introduction to lots of coding skills to create their Python program and get the output they need. It links to lots of useful resources, including the ISS speed project guide, a step-by-step explanation of how to calculate the speed of the ISS using images.
The Mission Space Lab rulebook lays out the up-to-date rules for the Mission Space Lab activity, including details of what your team's program must do and the technical requirements for it to achieve flight status and run on the ISS.
The Mission Space Lab mentor guide provides you with everything you need to facilitate the missions and help your team solve any problems.
Project timeline 2025/2026
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Challenge launch
8 September 2025
Mentors register their teams
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Create
8 September 2025 – 16 February 2026
Teams write and test their programs, and mentors submit their teams' completed programs. Astro Pi Mission Control tests and assesses each submitted program.
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Deploy
April – May 2026
Programs that pass testing and assessment are awarded 'flight status' and deployed on board the ISS
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Certificates
May – June 2026
Teams receive the data their program has gathered while running on the ISS, and a certificate of participation
