Team Stardust 🌃

Deadlines

• Writing Program (Internal): ⚠️ 7 February 2024

📖 Overview and Rulebook of the Competition

📚 Creator Guide - a step-by-step guide for an example program you should use as a starting point, but look beyond to improve your program.

If you haven't used GitHub before, click here.

• Install GitHub Desktop
• Install a code editor (we recommend PyCharm Community Edition (or Professional if you know you have access to it via the school) / Visual Studio Code then install the Python Extension Pack)
• Clone this apollo-1845/2023-Stardust repository (steps here, but there's often no need to make a new branch - you can stick with the main one)
• Open the local directory (step 5 in the last link) in your code editor - you should see this README and all the code added so far.
• Use commits and pushes (steps here, but there's often no need to make a new branch - you can stick with the main one) to save and upload your code.
• Click the "Fetch"/"Pull" button when it appears at the top of GitHub Desktop to update your code with changes made by the rest of your team, then repeat the last three steps including this one whenever you need to.

🐍 We're coding in Python. If you want to learn the language, click here.

• If you don't have much time, just using the creator's guide (top of this page) should give you a good idea of Python.
• We recommend the w3schools tutorial if you're already confident with programming in another language.
• If you want a more-in-depth tutorial, the Real Python one should be good.

^{An apology: In the activities fair I recommended Astro Pi to many people who didn't know programming, and claimed that it also involved thinking about an experiment from an very open range of options, and writing a research paper. That's because it was the case last year. Annoyingly the competition has been changed to be much more restrictive with a stronger emphasis on programming this year, but hopefully it's a useful (and not too difficult) learning opportunity for non-programmers who have signed up. That said, Astro Pi has "Is the method of estimating the speed innovative?" as a judging criterion so you could help there. What sensors could you use to get the ISS' speed, and how?}