![](\"http:\/\/www.esa.int\/var\/esa\/storage\/images\/esa_multimedia\/images\/2016\/03\/cheops_competition_drawings\/15916257-1-eng-GB\/Cheops_competition_drawings_small.jpg\")
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\nSelection of drawings submitted to the Cheops competition.\n<\/p>\n
\nCheops is a small space telescope dedicated to observing nearby stars that are already known to have planets. The satellite is being built as a collaboration between ESA and a consortium of European countries led by Switzerland.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe competition was coordinated by the University of Bern, Switzerland, the lead institution, and run in collaboration with ESA and mission partner institutions in the Cheops countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe competition ran between May and October 2015 and was aimed at children between the ages of 8 and 14 from ESA member and cooperating states. Around 1700 drawings were sent directly to ESA, while the partner institutions across Europe received thousands more.\n<\/p>\n
\nOut of the many excellent entries featuring a variety of cosmic settings, a total of 3000 were selected. These will now be scanned and shrunk by a factor of 1000 to be engraved on two metal plaques that will be attached to the satellite and fly into space.\n<\/p>\n