Exploring the possibilities of a career in space science, close to four thousand students from around the UK joined our Rockets For All workshops. Experts in the space sector– Dr. Helen O’Brien, Taskeen Ali, Professor Mark Sephton, Dr. Simon Foster, Dr. Sunday Popo-ola and Dr. Tamlyn Peel– shared their experience in the field, how they ended up where they are now and training opportunities students might aim for to pursue a career in the UK space industry. Students learned about everything from engineering and space policy, to space geology and remote medicine. Brilliant questions arose, not least of all: Is there life out there, on Mars or anywhere else in the universe?
Over the course of ten sessions, our guest speakers discussed the valuable skills needed to do their work, and gave students a chance to practice these skills. Whether it was technical drawing, analysing data to uncover trends or inspecting footage from the Mars Rover – the sessions were engaging and interactive.
With some of the most relevant and recent data collected from outer space, these leaders in the field shared exclusive video, photos and experience to give students insights into the current UK Space sector.
With limited capacity onboard a spacecraft, students learned about the processes involved in considering what to bring to space, what to take back to earth and how policy is formed around these activities. Students asked thoughtful questions of the specialists and educators had generous feedback to offer after the sessions were completed:
“The students were genuinely engaged in the conversation… The word cloud activity was a great conversation, as well as the discussion moments put into the talk.”
“A few students were surprised about the story of the colleague who moved into the industry due to his CAD experience in Kitchen Design– that turned a few heads.”
“I loved attending the Rockets for All webinar… I was eager to learn from experts… The event was a fantastic chance to explore how engineering, geology, and policy shape space missions, and I was enthusiastic about taking part in interactive activities.”
A special thanks to Imperial Space Lab and the UK Space Agency, our partners on this programme. We’re excited to see the next generation become more passionate about the very relevant and exciting work being done right now in the UK space sector.
Join us for our next Rockets for All event on Monday 17 March with Helen Sharman, first British astronaut, by clicking HERE.