Instructions

The second step for the team is to choose the topic and the type of their project.

Each entry must address a single topic. However, contestants can choose the subject area with which they tackle the topic: electronics, physics, chemistry, art, design, architecture, psychology etc. can all be used to illuminate an aspect of the chosen topic.

Contestants can choose a topic from the list below:

Solar System and Space Science

• Rocket systems why does a rocket fly and how;
• Exploration of the terrestrial planets – what can we learn for Earth;
• Manned space flight – how does a person feel several 1000 km from Earth?;
• Concept of a permanent lunar city – how to survive on the Moon?;
• Big telescopes in space – why is space a good place to observe the sky?

Europe in space

• Space missions – are they useful for humanity?;
• Europe has landed on a comet and on Titan, what are the scientific benefits?
• One year on a comet (describe what could be expected for a person living there in form of a SciFi);
• Searching for a second Earth – Europe’s effort in exoplanet research;
• Europe working with other countries – what is the benefit of collaborative missions?

Human beings on Mars

• Mars exploration, why is the red planet so fascinating?
• Compare living one year on Earth and living a year on Mars.
• How to build an autonomous space station on Mars?
• Future Mars cities – architecture.
• Feeling lonely and bored during a 1 year Mars flight-psychological aspects.

Astrobiology-The search for life in the universe

• What is life? What makes a planet habitable?
• Write a SciFi for a flight to an exoplanet with a spacecraft travelling with about 90% the speed of light.
• We have detected aliens – how can we talk to them, in which language?

This list is not exhaustive and any other development of ideas within the framework of the selected themes could be displayed based on the imagination of the students.

The team should choose the type of project they want to work on. This could be an experiment, a video, a prototype, a presentation, or any other set up (View Limitations[1]).

Check the submission template, that is provided by the organisers, which is not obligatory but recommended and which can be found here.

 

 

^[1] Electronic files uploaded to document each project can include: illustrated essays, PowerPoint presentations, posters, links to videos, links to dedicated project websites, and audio files.

Allowed file formats are:

• Documents; .doc .docx, .pdf, .txt  .ps  .ppt, .pptx, .pps,  .ppsx
• Images: *.png, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.bmp, *.gif
• Videos:  All videos should be uploaded in youtube or vimeo and the link should be provided.
• Audio formats: *.mp3 
• Compression formats: .tar .gz .zip .7z 

The maximum limit on the total size of uncompressed files for each entry is: 20 MB

Each project may cost no more than 300 € in materials to produce

The team should make research regarding the selected topic (research in libraries and online, observations and experiments, interviews etc.) and design the solution or the final deliverable of their work. They should consult their teacher-leader, and if applicable also their mentor, about the feasibility and scientific validity of their idea and divide the work between the different team members.

The team can then move on to the development of the project. It is strongly advised for contestants to develop their project in accordance with the Odysseus II contest requirements, to ensure that they avoid plagiarized material and that they provide all the necessary references for their project. Teams should also provide evidence to show how their project is innovative and relevant to the topic they chose. Teams should furthermore use the information and the data they collected while conducting interviews, experiments, observations and research at the library or online.

The final step is the submission of the project at the Odysseus II website. Participants can develop and submit their project in any of the twenty-four (24) official EU languages.