This year’s blockbuster movie First Man brought the story of Neil Armstrong’s moon landing to a new generation.
We also saw Insight land on Mars, a phenomenal achievement for the team at NASA.
Both are sure to inspire the astronauts of tomorrow – pioneers keen to push the boundaries of space exploration.
But did you know Scotland is itself a hub for the space industry? More than 7000 jobs – including many engineering roles – have been created in a sector worth around £130 million to the nation’s economy.
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Mars mission
Two scientists based at the University of Stirling are working to unlock the secrets below the Red Planet’s surface.
The recently landed InSight probe will collect information on the temperature, radioactivity and seismology of the planet’s crust.
The mission for Dr Axel Hagermann and Dr Nicholas Attree will be to assess the data sent back from by InSight.
Not of this earth
A team of scientists at the University of Strathclyde are to lead an experiment to create materials in space with properties impossible to develop here on Earth.
Thanks to £1.3 million funding from the UK Space Agency, the project will be carried out on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021.
The micro-gravity environment will allow the creation of everything from new alloys to medicines.
Capital countdown
Skyrora, whose rocket is on target to be the first privately owned to reach space from UK soil, has launched a new HQ in Edinburgh’s Princes Street.
This comes shortly after the first in a series of sub-orbital test launches at the Kildermorie Estate in Ross-shire.
Skyrora says it’s now on track with its research and development to send satellites of up to 350kg into space.
Age of the nanosats
Two Glasgow-built satellites, funded by the UK Space Agency, have been launched and will monitor weather and, hopefully, help combat climate change.
The two low-cost 5kg satellites were designed and built by Spire Global and are unique due to their tiny size and super-fast build time.
It’s believed the new kind of satellites – called nanosats – could revolutionise work in space.
They were launched from Sriharikota in India but from the 2020s they could be sent skywards from Scotland’s proposed spaceport in Sutherland.
Reach for the stars with a new job, courtesy of the latest Engineering/Technical vacancies from s1jobs.