Andrew Heinzman
Our friends at the Raspberry Pi Foundation are now running a “Mission Zero” educational initiative, in which kids on Earth can remotely program small Astro Pi units aboard the ISS. And while you may never have an Astro Pi of your own, you can now build a space-ready replica.
That’s right; the Pi Foundation has published instructions on building an Astro Pi at home. These instructions include 3D-printable STL files, plus detailed info on wiring your Astro Pi with tactile buttons, sensors, an LED display, and a camera.
All you need to complete this build, aside from a 3D printer, is a Raspberry Pi 4 computer, a Pi High Quality Camera, a Sense HAT, and some small pieces of hardware, which are listed in the Pi Foundation’s instructions. Notably, the Pi Foundation even lets you run its Astro Pi software on your homemade computer.
This isn’t the first time that enthusiasts have 3D printed their own Astro Pi replicas. The first Astro Pi computer went into space in 2015—the models that are currently floating with astronauts simply feature an upgraded design and new hardware.
If you don’t have the resources to build an Astro Pi at home, you can still take some time to learn about “Mission Zero.” This educational initiative lets kids program Astro Pi computers located at the ISS, and kids can even use the Astro Pi to leave short messages for astronauts.
Source: The Raspberry Pi Foundation
