In October 2025 we’ll take part in EuRoC in Portugal. The campaign runs from October 9 to 15, and we’ll be traveling as a small group. Our payload is being developed in collaboration with Team rockit Karlsruhe; on site we’ll also be supported by the HyEnD team, which is preparing its rocket in parallel. We’ll be flying in the 3-km class. Our mascot is called “Bleu.”

As a small project, we’re bringing FROG — Ferrofluid Response Observation under G-forces. The aim is to observe the Rosensweig effect in ferrofluid and infer accelerations from the formation of ferrofluid spikes. To do this, we use two glass tubes with a magnet glued to the outside of each — one in a vertical orientation and one horizontal. The tubes contain a few drops of EFH-1 ferrofluid and a secondary fluid made of dish soap, ethanol, and distilled water. A third glass tube serves as a reference: here we observe the mixing of ferrofluid and secondary fluid without the influence of a magnetic field. Metal plates between the individual tubes ensure that the magnetic field affects only one tube at a time.

As an additional experiment, we integrate a magnetic spring: in a tube, one magnet is fixed at the top and one at the bottom; between them, two further magnets “levitate,” repelled by the outer magnets and lubricated with ferrofluid. Here, too, vertical acceleration can be observed by the amount of deflection.

The payload follows the Pocketsat specification. Our experiments, a camera, and the electronics are housed within a defined volume; in addition, a 50 mm × 50 mm Pocketsat is provided for the battery and battery management unit. Electronically, we rely on a Pi Cam and a Raspberry Pi Zero that records the experiments. An accelerometer captures the flight accelerations. The Pi Zero passes the video signal digitally to rockit (Karlsruhe). A dedicated power supply with BMS and battery cells allows charging on the pad and powers the entire payload. For uniform backlighting, LEDs with diffuser film sit behind the experiments. The housing can be opened from the side; components can be slid in and then securely screwed in place.