LCATS Year 1
Remote sensing
Year one activities focus on Remote Sensing Technologies
During their first year, LCATS students develop an understanding of how various sensors function, eg. LiDAR sensors and CANSATS. Participants apply this knowledge to designing and building payloads that could be utilized for lunar missions. These payloads, equipped with sensors to monitor conditions similar to those found on the Moon, are launched on High Altitude Balloons (HAB), simulating the conditions and challenges of space exploration. Student LiDAR kits are taken to local Caves in Texas to simulate the mappings of lunar lava tubes found below the lunar surface.
LCATS Year 1 – What to expect
mission planning
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LCATS students work alongside industry professionals to design, plan, and implement a Lunar Lava Tube Exploration Mission. Mission plans are put into action in local caves in and around Texas
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Opportunity
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LCATS acquaints students with professional opportunities in Space-STEM through sustained research, field experiences, and mentorship. LCATS Year one includes field trips to organizations conducting real-time space experiments, including Space Centers in Texas
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Sensors - LiDAR
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LCATS students construct their own LiDAR kits and take them to local caves to do real-time laser mapping.
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Sensors - CANSATS
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LCATS students use CANSATS (can-shaped-satellites) and attach their own measurement sensors (ie. radiation / temperature sensors) to send to ‘the edge of space‘ on a High Altitude Balloon.
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3D Visualization training
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This training program, created by Dr. Dan Dimitriu, prepares our LCATS students for STEM careers by stimulating their spatial skills, 3D visualization, analytical abilities, abstract thinking, pattern recognition skills, memory, attention to detail, and general mental performance. Click here to learn more.
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LCATS ANNUAL High Altitude balloon launchES
The LCATS program sends student-built high-altitude balloon (HAB) payloads to the stratosphere to measure radiation, pressure, temperature, and other important environmental conditions. Guided by engineers and scientists, middle- and high-school students design instruments, coordinate with the FAA, integrate avionics, and recover the payloads. Recovered data is analyzed and submitted to regional and national conferences.
Student-led High-Altitude Balloon Experiments for Atmospheric Radiation Detection (American GeOPHYSICAL Union)
In May 2024, LCATS students launched two high-altitude balloons (HAB-1 and HAB-2) to collect environmental radiation, pressure, and temperature data up to altitudes exceeding 30 kilometers. The student teams integrated a GDK101 gamma detector and an activated-charcoal radon sampler to measure how cosmic radiation and naturally occurring radon behave with increasing altitude. The data revealed a distinct radiation peak within the Regener–Pfotzer Maximum, consistent with high-energy particle interactions in the upper atmosphere, and a measurable difference in radon exposure between surface and stratospheric samples. After recovery and analysis, students compiled and presented their findings in a virtual poster at the 2024 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, highlighting their methods, results, and implications for radiation monitoring in space-analog conditions.
View the 2024 AGU iPoster Presentation Here
This image is from the 2024 HAB payload on-board camera, reaching over 105,000 feet!
Multi-Instrument High-Altitude Balloon Campaign: Demonstrating Sensor Readiness for Space and Lunar Missions.
By helping to fund our programs for motivated Middle and High School students with an interest in exploring space, you advance 21st century careers for groups that are underrepresented in STEM careers: females, persons of color, and students facing traditional barriers to higher education such as physical challenges and economic hardship.