Mission Pegasus

Astrogazers in partnership with University of Bath will become the first UK school to launch a CubeSat into space.

Mission Pegasus aims to answer, ‘what can observing the Sun’s spectral wavelengths tell us about the Earth’s atmosphere?’

If Astrogazers are successful, Croydon High School may be the first all-girl school in the world to develop and launch a CubeSat into Low Earth Orbit.

Mission Pegasus Timeline

Royal Society PG Poster Croydon High April 2026.pdf

Royal Society Partnership Grant Poster

This project investigates how changes in sunlight intensity

and wavelength can be used to monitor atmospheric

particles and air quality, supporting our understanding of

environmental change and pollution. Students carried out

experiments to investigate how atmospheric particles

scatter and absorb light. They are also exploring how these

measurements vary at different times of day under different

environmental conditions.

Phase 2 - Spectroscopy experiment

Mission Pegasus aims to answer: What Can Observing the Sun’s Spectral Wavelengths Tell Us About the Earth’s Atmosphere?

As part of Mission Pegasus, Phase 2, we are investigating how air pollution affects light using a blue LED, spectroscopy, and air quality sensors.

By introducing smoke to simulate pollution, we measured changes in light intensity and wavelength — and the results were clear:

Clean air → a sharp, strong peak
Polluted air → lower intensity and a wider spectrum

As smoke particle levels increase:

More light is scattered in different directions
Some wavelengths are absorbed
The spectral peak becomes lower and wider

This is the same process that causes hazy skies and reduced visibility.

We are now extending our research beyond the lab by measuring sunlight during sunrise and sunset.

This STEM project is supported by our STEM partners University of Bath and Spirent Communications.

This STEM project was funded by The Royal Society Partnership Grant.

We’re thrilled to announce that Croydon High has been named a Finalist in the Muddy Stilettos Excellence in STEM Award (Senior School)!

This recognition celebrates the incredible impact of our pioneering Astrogazers initiative – a unique, student-led space science programme for girls aged 9–18.

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