News Release
9/19/2018
Markham, ON – Astronauts on the International Space Station could be sleeping a little better thanks to a 15-year old Middlefield C.I. student.
Chanpreet Sandhu was selected as a top four finalist in the national Little Inventors: Inventions for Space Challenge for her Deeper Sleeper Machine. Her concept is designed to help astronauts get more Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep while on board the International Space Station.
As a top four finalist, Canada’s expert “makers” have turned her concept into a functioning prototype that is currently on display at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. In November, one of the top 11 prototypes will be selected for testing on the International Space Station by Canadian astronaut, David Saint-Jacques.
“Sleep is a big problem on the space station because astronauts will lose anywhere from 30-60 minutes of sleep per day,” said Chanpreet Sandhu. “When I lose sleep I can’t function, so I knew my idea would be a great way to make life easier on the space station.”
Sandhu travelled to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa last week to see the unveiling of her prototype and met with industry experts, including Dr. Robert Thirsk, Canadian Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency.
“When our team chose to incorporate this challenge as part of our course, I never could have imagined that one of our student’s ideas would be selected to have a prototype developed,” said Alison MacPherson, Teacher and Department Head of Science at Middlefield Collegiate Institute. “Chanpreet is such an incredible young woman and her overwhelming success is a reminder to me to continue to take chances to be innovative in the classroom.”
The competition, hosted in partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Space Agency, challenged children between the ages of five and 15 to come up with inventions to make life in space easier and more fun. The top inventions were selected from more than 2,000 submissions. Sandhu’s REM sleep prototype will be on display from September 17-23, 2018 at the Canadian Aviation Museum.
York Region District School Board is the third largest school district in Ontario with over 124,000 students in 178 elementary schools and 33 secondary schools. York Region students consistently perform above average in provincial testing and the Board is one of the top achievers in Ontario. For more information about the York Region District School Board, please visit the Board website and follow @YRDSB on Twitter.
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