The Edinburgh-based, internationally renowned, space services and management company Astrosat is this year setting the challenge for the prestigious European Copernicus Masters competition.

The annual Copernicus Masters Challenge has been running since 2011, and has received nearly 700 entries from more than 60 countries. Astrosat has won a prize every year since 2012, but this year in association with engineering giant, Teledyne Brown, it has set contenders the challenge of an 'end-to-end' project.

Astrosat is asking entrants to the competition to design a new and innovative Earth Observation (EO) suite of sensors which can be deployed on the International Space Station's Multi-User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES) platform.

The data from these sensors will be analysed on earth to create a commercially viable application, with special focus placed on developing nations and disaster relief, or increasing their economic resilience.

Astrosat has made its name, and won multiple awards, for coming up with new and unique uses for 'downstream' data. The name applied to large datasets beamed down from orbiting satellites. It has used these to create such systems as its much-praised Recovery and Protection in Disaster (RAPID) project.

RAPID was designed to put 'eye in the sky' information into the hands of first responders in disaster situations, especially in difficult terrain. RAPID was recently successfully trialled in the jungles of Malaysia.

This year, with Astrosat on the Copernicus Masters judging bench, the aim is to look at entrants as potential partners in its commercial exploitation of space.

The prize consists of a bespoke support package valued at EUR 8,000 and a substantial tithe of satellite data, worth EUR 10,000. This will be in addition to partnering with Astrosat to create an end to end system that will join previous commercial successes as eXude, Transport Sentry, or WaveCERT; all previousprize winners from Astrosat.

The potential applications of this end-to-end functionality are significant. Astrosat and partners are not limited to interpreting the data sent downstream for the benefit of those on Earth, but will be able to select every aspect of the data; sensitivity, targeting observation and format.

Steve Lee, founder and CEO of Astrosat, said: "We have been competing in the Copernicus Masters almost since the beginning, and we're really pleased to be able to set this end-to-end challenge for the entrants.

"It's a great success story for both us and Copernicus to have watched winners grow to become established sponsors. Our guiding principle has always been that every problem on earth has a space bound solution, and this is great opportunity to showcase that."

Thorsten Rudolph, Chief executive of AZO, who organises the Copernicus Masters Challenge each year, said: "Astrosat has been a frequent participant ever since we launched the Copernicus Masters 2011 and had grand triumphs winning the competition multiple times.

"We are now especially proud of having the Scottish company as a partner for this year's edition, hosting its own challenge along with renowned aerospace industry stakeholders.

"This prime example shows how the commercial development and exploitation of Earth Observation data we encourage with the Copernicus Masters results in successful innovation and great market potential for Europe."

Those interested in entering the competition need to do so by 18th July. Details at the link here