The Characterising ExOPlanet Satellite (CHEOPS) mission is a joint ESA-Switzerland project, dedicated to "searching for exoplanetary transits on bright stars already known to host planets". The instrument will be able to point towards almost any location in the sky and perform ultrahigh precision photometry. The CHEOPS Space telescope is scheduled to be launched at the end of 2017 and will look from the Earth's oribit at planets in other solar systems.
Send your drawing into Space!
Together with the CHEOPS Space telescope, the CHEOPS Mission Organization plans to launch 3000 children’s drawings into space. They will be engraved in miniaturized form onto a plaque, which will be mounted on the telescope by a prominent representative of the Swiss Confederation.
Who can participate?
All children between 8 and 14 years who live in Switzerland or another ESA member country can submit a drawing. For Drawing-Campaigns outside Switzerland, the respective space agencies for each country are responsible. A list of contact addresses for different countries will be made available through the CHEOPS-Children’s Drawings Campaign website shortly.
When will the campaign run?
In Switzerland, the Drawing-Campaign started with a series of events on astronomically significant days: On Friday 20 March 2015, there was a partial solar eclipse in Europe, and on Saturday 21 March it was “Astronomy Day”. The campaign will last until 31 October 2015, which will be the last day (postal stamp) when drawings can be accepted.
How can you participate?
The Drawing-Campaign in Switzerland is realized in collaboration with astronomical associations, astronomical observatories, and other organizations. So watch out for events organized by your local astronomy club. If you can’t find an event close to you, or if you don’t want to wait, you can participate right now: From 21 March to 31 October 2015, you can download the drawing-sheet from the “Downloads” section of the CHEOPS-Children’s Drawings Campaign website and print it at home. You can then create and send your drawing by letter using the address that is printed on the drawing-sheet.
What should be drawn?
The topic of the drawing has to be related to space and/or the space telescope CHEOPS. The drawing has to be within the defined frame on the prepared drawing-sheet. The drawings have to be painted with black crayons or felt-tip pens in black and white. This is the only way they can be engraved on the plaque. If possible, all drawings will be sent into space. Should there be more than 3000 submitted drawings, a lottery will decide what drawings will be placed on the plaque.
Final participation conditions
By submitting a drawing the participant child and its parents agree that the organizers may use the drawing for CHEOPSrelated publications on the Internet, print product, and in media. In a publication, the first name, initial of the last name, and the age of the child may be indicated. Personal data of participants will not be submitted to third parties. With the submission of the drawing, the parents declare their full acceptance of these participation conditions.
If your child too young to participate in this Drawing-Campaign, the organizers have created a coloring picture for small children, which they can print and color. Just visit the campaign website to download. It is even possible to build your own model of the space telescope CHEOPS by printing out specially prepared cut-out sheets (recommended paperweight min. 180 g/m2 ), also available on the website.
CHEOPS-Children’s Drawings Campaign
http://cheops.unibe.ch/campaign-cheops-childrens-drawings/
