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For more than a decade, the German CanSat competition, co-organized by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), has inspired young talents to develop their own mini satellites. From March 3 to 7, 2025, committed school teams from across Germany presented their scientific and technical projects as part of the launch campaign in Bremen. The can satellites, also called “CanSats”, are launched to a height of up to one kilometer using a model rocket to fulfill their individual scientific missions.
Winners – Award-winning teams
1st place: AERO from Vaihingen an der Enz, Baden-Württemberg
Team “AERO”
The air in our atmosphere – it is one of the most essential requirements for life as we know it, but instead of taking care of it, it is becoming increasingly polluted. In order to counteract this, however, the origin and extent of such pollution must first be determined. We, the AERO team, have set ourselves the task of testing a new method with which the extent and impact of such pollution can be determined using PM values and VOC gas concentrations in order to be able to take effective countermeasures.
Jury comment on first place: “Very good, extensive technical implementation and perfect presentation”
2nd place: WOTAN from Neu-Isenburg, Hesse
Team WOTAN
We are the WOTAN team from Neu-Isenburg! In our picture you can see from left to right: Nevena, Hendrik, Frederik (all grade 11) and Yuanzhen (grade 13). We are all part of our school’s youth research group “Ideenflamme” and are supervised by the math, physics and chemistry teacher Andreas Fäth. We became aware of the CanSat competition at the IdeenExpo in Hanover, where we were able to exhibit two of our projects. Our satellite combines data from three measuring systems, which are controlled by two microchips at the same time, to form a map. We are looking forward to the launch in Bremen in 2025! @cansat_ideenflamme
Jury comment on second place: “Very good public relations and poster presentation”
3rd place: Plexplore from Schwalbach am Taunus, Hesse
Team “Plexplore”
Hi, we are Team PLEXPLORE and we are taking part in the German CanSat competition for the second time this year. We come from the Albert Einstein School in Schwalbach am Taunus and are in grades 12 and 13. From left to right we are Patrick, Andreas, Lena and Yash. We are continuing our basic idea from last year – to explore alien planets. This time, however, we want to know whether we can determine life-friendly or life-hostile properties on an alien planet based on gases. If you want to follow the development and construction process of our CanSat, you can visit our website plexplore.org or our Instagram account @plexplore.
Jury comment on third place: “Great documentation of the launch week with video blog and professional evaluation tool”
Comments from the CanSat jury
Dr. Dirk Stiefs, jury member of the competition and head of the DLR_School_Lab Bremen, commented on the result: “The ranking of the teams was not easy for the jury, and I would like to stress that every team that made it to the launch campaign is among the best.”
Bremen’s Senator for Children and Education, Sascha Karolin Aulepp, adds: “The satellite in a can: In the CanSat competition, schoolchildren delve into the world of space travel and send their canned mini satellites into the sky. This not only imparts knowledge, but also awakens the curiosity and inventiveness of young people. Here at the aerospace location of Bremen, new talents are actively shaping the future of science and technology year after year with their own mini satellites.”
During the launch campaign, the teams had the opportunity to present their months of work to an expert jury and at the same time gain exciting insights into Bremen’s aerospace industry. During the competition, they develop innovative experiments, develop creative solutions to real challenges and learn how interdisciplinary cooperation and technical know-how work together in the aerospace industry. As every year, the highlight of the launch campaign in the “City of Aerospace” Bremen was the rocket launch with a model rocket at Rotenburg (Wümme) airfield.
Innovative scientific and technical ideas
This year, the teams have once again come up with exciting and innovative concepts for their mini satellites. Two teams, for example, are dedicated to the habitability of alien celestial bodies. One team is investigating the strength of the magnetic field, which plays a crucial role in protecting a planet from solar winds. Another team is concentrating on analyzing the atmosphere and measuring parameters such as fine dust, oxygen and CO2 concentrations in order to gain insights into air quality and environmental conditions. But the teams are also addressing technical challenges: one team wants to ensure a safe landing using autonomously extendable landing legs and another wants to transport sensitive solar cells undamaged with the CanSat.
How do I apply?
Interested students aged 14 and over can apply for the next competition in August 2025. Teams with at least four members will then have around six months to design, build and test their creative mini satellites. All further information is available at www.cansat.de.
Who is behind the CanSat competition?
The German CanSat competition is coordinated by the German education office of the European Space Agency (ESA), ESERO Germany, and organized with national and local partners such as the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Institute of Aerospace Technology (IAT) of the Bremen University of Applied Sciences, Space Rocket Technology GmbH, the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) of the University of Bremen and the Geographical Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum. The Senator for Children and Education Bremen is the patron of the national competition.
The competition is sponsored by OHB Bremen and other co-organizers.
