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days
The PEARL-HEAT mission
Which surfaces of Bahrain Bay hold the most heat?
Two cameras look straight down as PearlSat falls under its parachute. The colour camera shows what each surface is. The thermal camera shows how hot it is.
The question
Heat on reclaimed land
A 2015 study found that Amwaj, a reclaimed island in Bahrain, ran up to about 5 °C warmer than undeveloped islands, with 14–26 % more cooling demand.3 The Four Seasons stands on a reclaimed island too.1
The method
Two cameras, one trigger
Colour photos twice a second and thermal frames four times a second, each tagged with altitude, tilt and air data. We sort sea, beach, lawn and paving, and plot how hot each one reads from the release point to the ground.
The check
Ground truth on launch day
We measure the same surfaces with a handheld infrared thermometer, time-stamped, and compare. Our target is agreement within ±2 °C below 30 m; the sensor's typical accuracy is ±1 °C.4
The name comes from Bahrain's pearl divers, who dropped into the deep and came back with treasure. PearlSat drops from the sky and comes back with data.
The CanSat
A satellite in a soft-drink can
Everything fits in Ø66 × 115 mm; only the antenna and parachute may stick out.2 We start from the competition kit and add only what the mission needs.
Flight computer
ESP32-S3
Two cores, a built-in camera port and 8 MB of extra memory for camera frames, all at 3.3 V.5
Added camera
32 × 24 thermal array
An MLX90640 looking straight down, beside the kit's colour camera.4
Sensors
Pressure, air, motion
Barometer for altitude, air temperature and humidity, accelerometer, gyro and compass, from the kit.
Radio
433 MHz LoRa
A telemetry packet every second and a small 16 × 12 thermal image every 5 seconds, straight to our ground station.
Structure
Hybrid can
A sealed 3D-printed body with EVA foam so it floats, a vented band so the air sensors read outside air, and open holes for both cameras.
Smart trigger
Arms itself in the lift
It arms once it has been carried up the tower, then starts filming when two of three sensors agree it is falling.
Ø66 × 115mm
The whole CanSat2
201m
Four Seasons tower, our release site1
32 × 24
Thermal pixels, 55° × 35° field of view4
±1°C
Typical thermal accuracy4
≈3.3m
Ground covered by one thermal pixel per 100 m of height (worked out from the 55° view)
2 / 4per s
Colour and thermal frames during the drop (our targets)
512 KB + 8 MB
Memory on the flight computer5
12 Dec2026
Launch day2
Sources
- SOM – Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay: 201 m, built on a reclaimed island. som.com
- Bahrain Space Agency and AUBH – CanSat Bahrain 2026 induction session (rules, kit and calendar), 25 October 2026.
- Radhi, Sharples & Essam (2015), Sustainable Cities and Society 19: 310–318. University of Liverpool repository
- Melexis – MLX90640 datasheet and product page: 32×24 pixels, 55°×35° field of view, typical accuracy ±1 °C. melexis.com
- Espressif – ESP32-S3 Series Datasheet: up to 240 MHz, 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM (S3R8), camera interface. espressif.com
Road to launch
Competition calendar
Official CanSat Bahrain 2026 dates. Status updates against today's date.
Mission log
Every milestone, as it happens
We post at every milestone here, on Instagram and on LinkedIn, and tag @bahrainspaceagency.
Bahrain's pearl divers dropped into the deep and came back with treasure. PearlSat drops from the sky and comes back with data.
The logo carries that idea: a pearl held in orbit, in our university's navy and gold. The small gold dot circling it is our CanSat.
Crew
The team
Five students and one supervisor, one owner for every subsystem.
Mahmoud AdawiPROJECT MANAGER
Schedule, submissions and our point of contact.
Haneen AbdelallMECHANICAL
Hybrid can, EVA foam, parachute and recovery.
Ian FernandesELECTRICAL
Power, wiring, sensors and the LoRa radio.
Razan AlbasriSOFTWARE, DATA & OUTREACH
Flight code, ground station and social media.
Hamzah RizviSCIENCE
PEARL-HEAT science, success criteria and documentation.
Eng. AmalSUPERVISOR
Guidance and support. Design decisions stay with the students.
CanSat Bahrain 2026 is the first CanSat competition in the GCC, organised by the Bahrain Space Agency and the American University of Bahrain and powered by BBK.
Follow the build
Fly with us
Follow every milestone from the Mission Concept Review to launch day. Sponsors and partners are welcome; email us.