Space and engineering go together like Nutella and porridge – an often overlooked, yet in our minds, essential partnership.
After all, this marriage has helped shape our understanding of the planets, brought a deeper appreciation of the stars, carried us off into the infinities of solar systems, opened up the portal to celestial bodies in the eternal blackness of the cosmos . . .
Sorry, I was altogether lost in space there. What I’m saying is engineering is paramount to our future exploration and understanding of the universe.
Engineers have helped develop the tools and technologies that have given gravity-defying human beings the chance to explore and be wowed by the wonders above and around us.
And as NASA’s New Horizon probe begins taking holiday snaps of Pluto before preparing to touch down on the ice-covered “planet” in July – incredibly nine years and nearly three billion miles after it set off – this is the perfect time to celebrate the influence engineering has had on our understanding of space . . . and to look at where it is boldly going next.
Ever since Laika, the Siberian husky, was catapulted into orbit, humankind has engineered our way, and those of unwitting canine friends, through space; putting a man on the moon and visiting neighbouring planets by way of robot, to dig, prod, poke and better understand planetary make-ups.
Pluto is the last of the “original nine” holiday destinations in our solar system but it won’t be the end of the line for space exploration.
As part of the 2015 X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge, NASA is challenging astronautical engineers of the future to design lightweight, super-strong carbon-fibere structural fabrication systems for spacecraft to go faster and longer.
There are also plans for a deployable greenhouse system for food production and long-duration missions –it’s not all rocket science!
And not all space projects have their focus on a distant galaxay, far, far away. In fact, some stay much closer to home. This month saw NASA successfully launch its first Earth satellite designed to collect global observations of soil moisture hidden just beneath our feet.
The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.
The future of astronautical engineering has never been more vibrant or aspirational. Engineers of Scotland: your space station needs you! Search jobs now!
Picture: NASA launches the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite.