Enter the space race! Drawing competition to name a satellite

04 May 2011

In this age of celebrity many young people dream of seeing their name among the stars. Now European children have the chance to make this dream real. The European Commission is organising a drawing competition for children; the winners will have a European navigation satellite named after them before it is launched into space.

Get your name on one of these. © European Commission

On Hollywood Boulevard celebrities can see their names inlaid in stars on the ‘Walk of Fame’. Now European children can go one better by having their names given to satellites, which, while not always visible to the naked eye, occasionally do appear as moving stars above our heads.

The Galileo Contest is a chance for one child from each EU country to’join the stars’ by having a real geostationary navigation satellite, part of the Galileo system, named after them. To take part, each child must submit a piece of artwork based on the theme ‘Space and Aeronautics’. The competition is open to children born in 2000, 2001 and 2002 (i.e. children aged 9 to 11).

Everyone will get a chance

The competition runs in Belgium and Bulgaria from 10 April to 31 May 2011 and the winner will be announced in June. The competition will launch in the remaining 25 countries in September and close on 15 November 2011.

The order in which names will be given to the satellites is based on the alphabetical order of the EU countries in their own national language. Thus, Belgium and Bulgaria will select the names for the first two satellites, scheduled to launch in August 2011.

The range of acceptable artwork is wide, from a picture of the Earth with other planets and satellites to the launch of Galileo satellites by rocket. Children are invited to give free rein to their imaginations and use any drawing, painting and colouring material and techniques they wish.

Pictures must then be scanned or photographed and uploaded to the website. The winner will be the child with the best artwork from his or her country, as selected by a national jury.

Stellar panel of judges

For Belgium, two of the three members of the jury have already been confirmed: former astronaut Dirk Frimout and Minister of Science Policy Sabine Laruelle. For Bulgaria, the three members of the jury are: astronaut Alexander Alexandrov, Tsvetelina Bonova, Head of Communication for UNICEF Bulgaria, and Niki Kanchev, a popular television personality in Bulgaria.

The selection of the drawings will take place in the first half of June and the award ceremonies will take place in the second half of June. In each country, the winner will be invited with his or her parents and will be given a model of the satellite with his or her name engraved on it, as well as a certificate.

How to participate:

Registration and full terms and conditions can be accessed from the competition website