role model Archives - Discovery Diaries

Piyal Samara-Ratna: Mechanical Engineer

Read our Q&A with Piyal Samara-Ratna. Piyal is a mechanical engineer who worked on the MIRI instrument as part of the UK’s Webb team.

Pamela Klaassen: Instrument Scientist

Read our Q&A with Pamela Klaassen. Pamela is an instrument scientist currently working at UK Astronomy Technology Centre supporting the MIRI instrument focusing on the Spectrometer and the Integral Field Unit.

Gillian Wright: Director of the UK-ATC

Read our Q&A with Professor Gillian Wright. Gillian is the Director of the UK-ATC and is also the European PI for the James Webb Space Telescope MIRI Instrument.

Naomi Rowe-Gurney: PhD student

Read our Q&A with Naomi Rowe-Gurney. Naomi is a PhD student studying the atmosphere of Uranus and Neptune using a space telescope called Spitzer.

Top 5 Rosalind Franklin Facts

Who was Rosalind Franklin, the scientist behind the ExoMars rover’s name?

Libby Jackson: Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Manager

Read our Q&A with Libby Jackson, Human Spaceflight and Microgravity Programme Engineer at the UK Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and what inspired her as a child.

Vinita Marwaha Madill: Space Operations Engineer

We speak with Vinita Marwaha Madill, contract Space Operations Engineer at the European Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how Helen Sharman inspired her to follow her dreams.

How do astronauts use the toilet in space?

Everybody wonders it, so we thought we’d answer it … just how exactly do astronauts use the toilet in space?

Tamsin Mather: Volcanologist

We speak with volcanologist, Tamsin Mather. Here she tells us about her career in the STEM sector and how her job isn’t just wearing a silver suit traipsing up a volcano…

5 Minutes With… Sean Goldsbrough

Introducing Sean Goldsbrough, Senior Orbital Analyst at the UK Space Agency.

Sue Horne: Head of Space Exploration, UKSA

Read our Q&A with Sue Horne, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how she kept bees as a child!

5 minutes with… Iya Whiteley

Introducing Dr. Iya Whiteley, Space Psychologist and Director of the Centre for Space Medicine, University College London.

Stephen Lewis: Professor of Atmospheric Physics

We speak with Stephen Lewis, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at The Open University. Here he tells us about his career in the STEM industry and what inspired him as a child.

Dr. Sally Ride: America’s First Female Astronaut

Meet Sally Ride, America’s first female astronaut and an inspiring role model for children and adults alike.

Peter McOwan: Professor of Computer Science

We speak with Peter McOwan, Professor of Computer Science at Queen Mary University London. Here he tells us about his fascination with robotics and how he’s not out to rule the world.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock: Space Scientist

Read our bio of Maggie Aderin-Pocock, an incredibly inspiring Space Scientist and who cameos in Chapter Five of the Mars Diary.

Cindy Forde: Space Communicator

We speak with Cindy Forde, a Space Communicator with a special interest in inspiring children to see their own STEM potential. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and what she was like as a child.

Abbie Hutty: Lead Spacecraft Structures Engineer

We speak with Abbie Hutty, Lead Spacecraft Engineer and the Delivery Manager for the ExoMars rover. Here she tells us about her career in the space and why she has no plans to travel to Mars any time soon.

Chapter One: Richard Garriott on Being an Astronaut

To introduce us to Chapter One of the Space Diary we asked private astronaut Richard Garriott to share his experiences of going to space.

Chapter Two: Helen Sharman on how astronauts communicate in space

We interviewed Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, and asked her to explain everything about communication in space.

Disrupting Stereotypes

Our showcase of STEM experts will help students challenge their ideas of who a scientist is and what he or she does.

5 minutes with… Lucy Hawking, Author

Lucy is the author of the Principia Mission Space Diary and the Mars Diary.

Become a Star Apprentice

Each month we’re looking to showcase some Star Apprentices and we want your students to help us find them!

The Space Diary is back!

Principia Space Diary is back, giving thousands of schoolchildren the chance to become space experts as they learn about British European Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake’s historic space mission.