National project · Environmental monitoring
Desafío Bajo Zero
Scientific experiments designed by students and carried out in Antarctica
About the project
Desafío Bajo Zero (‘Sub-Zero Challenge’) was a citizen science project that made it possible to carry out scientific research in Antarctica, at the Spanish Antarctic Base ‘Gabriel de Castilla’ on Deception Island (South Shetland Islands).
Sensor nodes based on Arduino, an open technology, were installed at the base. They measured temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, CO2 and ultraviolet radiation, among other parameters. The devices are low-cost and easy to replicate, so anyone could build an identical one to test and program their experiments.
Participants submitted a proposal and programmed their experiment from Spain, and the military personnel stationed at the base ran it during the Antarctic Campaign. Each team then received the data to analyse.
The first edition, in 2019, was open to any person or team interested in programming and science. It also included a 3D design competition, with the designs printed at the base.
The 2020/2021 edition was aimed at secondary school, sixth-form and vocational training students aged 14 to 20 from all over Spain. It offered two missions: a scientific experiment with sensors and planning a drone route over the island.
Project objectives
- Bring scientific research in an extreme environment such as Antarctica within reach of anyone interested.
- Encourage young people to pursue technical careers.
- Learn to program Arduino and gain a grounding in geography, physics and maths by working with real data.
- Develop management and teamwork skills in an inclusive environment.
- Capture images of Antarctica, a place very few people can visit, and make them available to everyone.
The role of Ibercivis
In 2019, Fundación Ibercivis worked on the project with Innovart, Etopia, Sensorae and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. That edition was funded through the Observatory for Citizen Science in Zaragoza, an agreement between Zaragoza City Council and Fundación Ibercivis.
The 2020/2021 edition was a Fundación Ibercivis project in collaboration with FECYT and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. Academia de Inventores, a company from Aragon, handled the technical and educational development. The Spanish Army collaborated through the Antarctic Campaign, and the Arduino Foundation provided the sensor kits.
Our activities
- Design and installation of a network of Arduino sensor nodes at the Gabriel de Castilla Base, with documentation and programming examples for each sensor.
- Call for scientific proposals and selection of the best experiments to run in Antarctica.
- 3D design competition (2019) with regular themes; the winning designs were printed at the base and sent to their creators.
- Images taken with a 360º camera to offer a virtual tour of Deception Island (2019).
- 20 node and sensor kits, identical to those in Antarctica, sent to the finalist teams of the 2020/2021 edition; the schools kept them afterwards.
- Drone flight mission: students planned routes with open mapping tools to photograph the Antarctic surface.
- Project website with the missions, deadlines and FAQs.
Project details
Type of project
National
Duration
2019 – 2021
Funding
Observatory for Citizen Science in Zaragoza (an agreement between Zaragoza City Council and Fundación Ibercivis) for the 2019 edition; Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) – Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the 2020/2021 edition
Consortium
2019: Innovart, Fundación Ibercivis, Etopia Centre for Art and Technology, Sensorae and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. 2020/2021: Fundación Ibercivis, Academia de Inventores and the Spanish Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Arduino Foundation
Area
Environmental monitoring
