Lift off! Northampton siblings win space logo contest for East Midlands

A brother and sister from Northampton have been crowned East Midlands winners in a national competition to design a logo that will be displayed on the first rockets launching small satellites from the UK later this year.

Daniel, aged 10, and Sophie Lah-Anyane, aged seven, teamed up to create a special design book to carefully craft their masterpiece, which features the bold slogan “Eco Squad” illustrated with drawings representing different elements of the environment, including a penguin, a mountain, and stormy weather.

More than 10,000 primary school children aged between four and 11 years old entered the Logo Lift Off competition, which was run by the UK Space Agency in collaboration with Hopscotch Consulting to encourage the next generation to consider a career in the space sector. The national winner, announced on the International Day of Human Spaceflight today, Tuesday April 12, was six-year-old Callum Wilkinson from Bolton, who will have his logo displayed on the rockets.

As regional winners, the children will receive personalised certificates, goody bags, a Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) learning kit, and an opportunity for their classes to attend an online talk with a UK Space Agency representative.

The UK is set to become the first country in Europe to host small satellite launches this year, as set out in the National Space Strategy. As well as monitoring climate change, satellite data can be used to help provide essential daily services, such as television broadcasting and navigation systems, and to improve connectivity. The UK’s first small satellite launch is set to take place from Spaceport Cornwall later this year, followed by vertical launches from Scotland at both Space Hub Sutherland in the Highlands and SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland.

Daniel and Sophie Lah-Anyane, from East Hunsbury Primary School, said: "We found the research and brainstorming really interesting, we just didn’t want to stop. We got quite excited once we saw how well the final design was coming together. We hope people like it.

"We're really happy and amazed to be winners. We can’t believe we got this far."

"Our design is a fun and colourful logo based on sustainability and technology. It shows how small satellites can improve life on Earth."