World Space Week is an international celebration of Science and Technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition. The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1999 that World Space Week would be held each year from 4th-10th October. These dates commemorate two special events: 

• 4th October 1957: The launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, thus opening the way for space exploration
• 10th October 1967: The signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

This year the theme was Entrepreneurship and pupils at Risedale School were encouraged to imagine that in the future there would be human colonies on Mars and two moons of Jupiter, Io and Europa. They were then asked to consider what businesses they thought would be important to those colonies and what they would offer as a resource. 

The pupils at Risedale mainly concentrated on those concepts most important to life - oxygen and food. Many had designed businesses that provided food, whether as a restaurant or delivery service, to keep the nutrient requirements of the human population sated. A few had also suggested an oxygen recycling or delivery service for people to access.

The winner however was Jamie Cook, 8Douglas,  and his “Mariopa Express”. This was a delivery service that took into account the needs of people living in diverse areas that did not have the ability to access shops as people would traditionally have been able to.

Second place went to William Bell, 9Vizor, and his “Bell’s Cosmic Autoships”. A thrifty second-hand spaceship/car dealership business.

Finally, in third place, it was too hard to choose between the deliciously well-planned eateries of Thomas Remmer, 8Gunnell and Lucy Scott, 7Rodgers.

Teacher of Science, Ms Blatch, said,

“Thank you so much to all the pupils who contributed. I am so proud of your ingenuity and look forward to seeing your ideas for next year.”