“The first man or woman to one day walk on Mars is, today, a child. They are a young boy or girl, most likely a teenager sitting in a classroom somewhere in the world.”

The space sector is growing fast and the UK will need 30,000 more people to join it over the next decade. Today’s school students are the next generation of space scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs.

On 27th February, 120 of our Year 9 students took part in a workshop to discover the exciting Science and Engineering of future space missions, including UK spaceports and space launchers, the new James Webb Space Telescope, the ExoMars mission and innovative ways to use data from satellites. The event also looked at how the Moon might feature in future space exploration as students worked in teams to build a model moon rover and competed to see which was the best at moving over an obstacle and travelling the furthest.

The students also heard from STEM Ambassador, Phoebe Richards, about the nuclear industry and routes into STEM careers.

We would like to thank EDT and the UK Space Agency for providing this inspiring opportunity for out students.