Dates: 24 & 26 February 2026
Times: 10:00 AM or 2:00 PM (50 minutes each)
Format: Live, online, and classroom-ready – all you need is paper!

 

Space weather happens in space but affects us here on Earth. Scientists are collecting vital data from the Sun to help protect the technology and systems we rely on every day.

Join us in February 2026 for a journey into deep space with Helen O’Brien, an engineer working a million miles from Earth.

Helen’s new monitor launched in September aboard NASA’s IMAP spacecraft and is now travelling into position out in space. When these workshops take place, Helen and her team will be receiving their first new data from the mission.

Students will hear first-hand what it’s like to work on this extraordinary project and have the chance to ask Helen their questions during this exceptional interactive workshop.

Each 50 minute workshop will be hosted on Zoom. Don’t miss out – sign up now using the buttons below.

Tuesday 24 February

10am (Primary Schools)
2pm (Primary Schools)

Thursday 26 February

10am (Secondary Schools)
2pm (Secondary Schools)

Meet the Expert

Helen O’Brien leads a team of engineers and scientists at Imperial Space Lab.  

Helen and her team build and operate magnetometers (magnetic field instruments) for space science satellites, including for NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). 

One of the most exciting projects she works on is the Solar Orbiter mission which launched in 2020. Helen and her team built the Solar Orbiter’s magnetometer which has sent back billions of measurements of the magnetic field of the Sun and Venus. She is currently working with NASA’s IMAP team to monitor space weather from deep space.

Any questions? Email STEM@big-ideas.org

STEM with Wings is free to schools thanks to RAF Youth STEM.