Meet the young people solving our problems with space tech

oceanImage source, NASA

How can we use space to help deal with problems here on Earth?

That's a question the UK Space Agency asked as part of a competition to encourage young people to come up with ideas of how we can tackle global and local problems using space.

The SateLife Competition aims to encourage young people to think about how satellites can improve our everyday lives.

Competitors were battling it out for a cut of a £50,000 prize fund, and would have to impress judges from the UK Space Agency, and the European Space Agency.

There were loads of ideas! From things like apps that predict the health of crops, to using a wristband to help people with dementia.

Here are the winners and runners-up

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Ava and the Perfect Sense pin badge

Perfect Sense 13-year-old Ava bagged top spot with her Perfect Sense pin badge idea. It will combine GPS data and pollution sensors to guide the badge wearer to a route with better air quality. The badge is designed for students, and has changeable designs!

Image source, UK Space Agency
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Adam came up with the Charge Finder idea

Charge Finder Adam's idea was one of the runners up. It will help people with electric cars to find the nearest available charging point. If the charge is too far away, the app will suggest waiting until a more local 'in use' location becomes available.

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Grace, Emmy and Maddie of Safely

Safely This project looks at creating a wristband to support the 20 million people who go to UK festivals every year. As well as being used as a payment mechanism, the band would have a feature for friends to find each other using GPS location. An additional feature of an emergency SOS function would tell festival management and their next of kin if someone were to get into trouble.