Most ESA Member and Associate States host national CanSat competitions every year. If you can’t find your country on this page, it unfortunately means that your country does not organise a CanSat competition under the ESA initiative and it is therefore not possible to register for this event. The eligibility criteria to participate are:
- Teams must consist of 3-6 students aged 14 to 19 years old.
- A team must sign up with a teacher, educator, parent or adult.
- Participants must be from an ESA Member State or Associate Members.
- Students enrolled in a post-secondary/tertiary institution are not eligible to apply.
Countries hosting national CanSat competitions
How to apply?
Most ESA Member and Associate States host national CanSat competitions every year. If this is the case in your country, you should first participate in your national CanSat competition. Once you have found your country page, understand what the deadlines are to apply. Once your application is ready, apply directly through the ‘apply here’ button. Participation is open to:
- Teams of 3-6 young people aged 14 to 19 years old.
- You must sign up with a teacher or mentor.
- Participants must be from an ESA Member State, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania or Slovakia.
- Students enrolled at a post-secondary/tertiary institution are not eligible to apply.
Participating countries
For a National CanSat Competition to be recognised by ESA:
- The national organisers must guarantee a fair geographical distribution and participation of teams from across their country.
- The national organisers must run their national competitions no later than 11 May 2026 in order to guarantee their winning teams the possibility to participate in the ‘Space Engineer for a Day’ learning and celebration event.
- The national organisers don’t necessarily have to follow the ESA official requirements.
- The national organisers should have the intention of continuing the CanSat national activity in the future and try to guarantee editions on a yearly basis.
The following countries host National CanSat Competitions recognised by ESA:
Can’t find your country? Unfortunately your country does not organize an CanSat competition and it is therefore not possible to register for this event.
Support
Teachers/Mentors participating in National Competitions may be offered support from their National Organisers, such as:
- CanSat Kits
- CanSat Teacher’s workshop for mentors
- CanSat Webinars with space experts
- Supporting learning materials (e.g., the ESA CanSat resources or national resources)
- Individual recommendations/help throughout the project
- Reviewed versions of submitted documents
Reporting
Teams will need to submit different reports to their national organisers for them to track the team’s progress. These reports are typically:
- Preliminary Design Review (PLR)
- Critical Design Review (CDR)
- Final Design Review (FDR)