Two Venus missions: Butian at the 2024 GFSSM China final
From 7 to 11 August 2024, the GFSSM China final brought student teams to Beijing. Butian's Yuheng and Tianquan teams both qualified; the companies they joined at the final both finished as national runners-up.
The two Butian teams at the 2024 event.
Qualification and final asked different questions
The qualifying round asked for a city in Venus orbit. Students began preparing during winter break and continued to revise their proposal until April. At school, they also organized two practice projects and mock defenses, with older students sharing what they had learned.
The on-site final shifted the brief to a floating agricultural city in Venus's atmosphere. It was imagined as a future food source in space. The orbital city and the atmospheric city were distinct design challenges, with different environments and constraints.
Five departments, one 24-hour proposal
Yuheng and Tianquan were assigned to the virtual companies Artemis Resources and Helio Energy. Together with students from other schools, they worked across management, structure, habitat, operations and infrastructure. The 24-hour design sprint began at 8 a.m. on 9 August.
A design session during the final.
A proposal page gave the team a concrete design to discuss and check.
Results
Both companies with Butian teams finished second nationally, and Tianquan won Best Qualifying Proposal. Individual roles and awards included:
| Team | Student | Role / award |
|---|---|---|
| Tianquan | Qian Kun | Company president; Best Leader |
| Tianquan | Su Yiwen | Vice President of Engineering |
| Tianquan | Yang Zihan | Vice President of Business |
| Yuheng | Wu Yike | Vice President of Engineering |
| Yuheng | Yang Yang | Vice President of Business |
| Yuheng | Li Manhui | Operations Director; Best Leadership |
| Yuheng | Fang Yuhan | Best Employee |
Zhu Maoqi and Shao Wenxin advised the teams. Their public reflections stress the work behind the results: building a shared plan with new collaborators, explaining a life-support process clearly, and balancing hands-on work with leadership.
Adapted from the Hangzhou No.2 High School article on GFSSM 2024. Photographs and proposal images come from the original article, which distinguishes the orbital qualifying brief from the atmospheric final.