The American scientists suggested the Kazakhstan school students to take part in development of the new robot. The offer arrived after the victory of students of Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Taldykorgan at the International Olympic Games on robotics in New Delhi. In India our children won a prestigious award for creation of the orbital companion on collection of space debris. The BNews.kz correspondent met the young inventors.

As scientists researched, by 2030 the quantity of space debris can increase twice that will lead to bigger number of accidents in a terrestrial orbit. According to the statistics, for today in the orbit there are about 10 billion various particles which can damage the spacecraft. For Kazakhstan it is very important subject as Baikonur Cosmodrome is situated in our territory. Our national team developed one of solutions of this global problem, moreover the Kazakhstan students received a business offer to a cooperation with the US.

How the idea came?

Students of Nazarbayev Intellectual School of the physical and mathematical direction of the city of Taldykorgan created the unique project - the orbital satellite for collection of space debris which takes space debris by means of "umbrella" and sends it, giving additional acceleration, to the Sun for destruction. The satellite robot is executed on the basis of the LEGO Education EV3 set and has solar batteries and shunting engines.

"This idea has come to us at the beginning of August when we have begun work on this project. Authorship doesn't belong to one person. We have come to this idea as a result of brainstorming. And why space subject? Because Kazakhstan takes very important place in space life of the whole world. In our country there is Baikonur.

In Kazakhstan it is a rarity that the Central Asian country has own space program, we in the country have it and to secure space and to make space a little more safely we have thought up this project," the student of the 11th class of Nazarbayev Intellectual school of the physical and mathematical direction of Taldykorgan Beck Talgat said.

Where does the space debris come from?

According to researches, pupils have found out that by 2030 the problem of studying of space will become the main problem in the world therefore annually the quantity of space debris grows exponential.

"Annually more than one billion various particles appear in a terrestrial orbit. This device is capable to clear an orbit of these objects even if not completely, but to secure the main orbits of the earth," he noted.

At the same time, as B. Talgat has emphasized, that this device has very big prospects in the future as by 2030 the quantity of space debris can grow up twice that will lead to bigger number of accidents in a terrestrial orbit, therefore, similar projects have to be started.

"First it is simple, secondly it carries out very big mission, so, statistically in a terrestrial orbit to be about 10 billion various particles. These particles can damage the spacecraft, being in an orbit. They move with a speed over 27 thousand km/h, that is even the smallest particle can break off a protective layer at any satellite and turn it into space debris. This device is capable to solve a problem by performance of one of utilization cycles this device clears a terrestrial orbit. Going to high layers of the atmosphere these objects burn down and don't do any harm to the satellites which are in a terrestrial orbit," he explained.

The young scientist has promised that in the future they will surely create one more model which will even better show operation of this device.

"We won't throw this project in a long box, we will develop it further, perhaps, we will construct one more model, and this prototype will be used for a reconstruction of real model," he told.

How does the robot work?

Other participant of the project, the student of the 10th class of NIS Anatoly Alekseev has reported that for utilization, the robot uses dense layers of the atmosphere, that is the garbage of no more than 70 cm in the diameter is sent to dense layers of the atmosphere where he is completely destroyed and if the garbage appears more than 70 cm in the diameter, then it will be blown up previously and reduced.

 

"The robot is used for cleaning the space off garbage by means of an umbrella. It collects space debris for further utilization. For maneuvering in zero gravity he uses a cylinder in compressed air that allows it to move in zero gravity and to adapt to garbage," he explained.

Why does Kazakhstan need robots?

In his turn, the teacher of robotics of NIS of the physical and mathematical direction Nikolay Avdyunin has noted that today robotics has very good prospects.

"Now robots have entered our life in all fields of science and technology. Robots develop far-out planets, robots help us with medicine, robots study the deep ocean and robots help us about the house for this reason pupils have to study without fail robotics as in the future the share of robots in economy will strongly increase and experts will be necessary for us," Nikolay Avdyunin told.

For today a large number of competitions in robotics is carried out in the world where Kazakhstan takes active part.

"We have to participate in such Olympic Games as Kazakhstan seeks to enter TOP 30 of the most developed countries, in this regard we actively develop educational robotics at school. I have prepared team of pupils of our school who could adequately act and have taken for us a prize. With confidence I can tell which will be able to understand in this equipment, to create newer robots. This victory not the first, we participate for the third year in the Olympic Games on robotics. In 2014 in Sochi we have taken the third place, in the future we also plan to participate in these Olympic Games," he said.

For new awards

As the teacher of robotics has reported, the next Olympic Games in 2017 will take place in Costa Rica.

"I will prepare several teams which will adequately present our Kazakhstan for these Olympic Games," he said.

Besides, according to vice chairman of the board of AOO "Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools" Svetlana Ispusinova, besides the space station, the national team of Kazakhstan has submitted the Eco House project which provides integration of the station on waste recycling in houses. In kitchen it is planned to create compartments for sorting of waste. Thus, people, without leaving the house, will utilize garbage and keep, thereby, ecology of the urban environment.

Obstacles

S. Ispusinova has emphasized that, despite difficulties which the team had met at the competition the Kazakhstan project was the most original and interesting one.

"We had technical problems as well, they brought compressed air which technically performed work in cylinders. We were not allowed to the plane because of this compressed air and as we have arrived end-to-end, we had to look for this air urgently in India, there were very difficult and intense moments, we have even thought that the project will just fail, but at night we have found nevertheless the compressed air. Our robot has made great impression," she told.

Cooperation with American scientists

After the successful performance at the Olympic Games, Kazakhstan winners received interesting offer from American scientists. They invited our school students to participate in the new project, and to show result in July in Washington at the international competition.

"We had very interesting offer from Americans. They just approached and suggested us to participate in the new American project which will take place in July in Washington. They suggest us to work on the robot which will they send to Kazakhstan in February. And to show result in Washington at the competition.

We don't know yet how this robot will look, we don't know what will be these competitions, but it is very interesting to us. At the same time the American side organizes these competitions for the first time and if we participate, then they promise to help with possible with financial spendings and to attract to us sponsors," she told.

bnews.kz