space Archives - Discovery Diaries

Fly over ExoMars landing site

In preparation for the ExoMars rover Mars landing, scientists are creating 3D models (called Digital Terrain Models, or DTM) of the terrain in Oxia Planum.

Inspired by Space: Engaging Girls in STEM

A guide for educators to empowering girls so they develop a genuine interest in science.

Tim Peake: The Principia Mission

On Tuesday, 15 December 2015, ESA Astronaut Tim Peake launched into space.

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.

Is the soil on Mars really red?

For World Soil Day we wanted to find out if the soil on Mars was really red and what makes it look that way.

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.

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…

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.

Star Apprentice Thomas and his love of Lego

Meet July’s Star Apprentice, Thomas! Thomas (11) wowed us with his superb work – especially his map and comment about going to Denmark.

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.

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.

Helen Sharman: Britain’s first astronaut

Find out more about Britain’s first astronaut, Dr. Helen Sharman.

Star Apprentice Chloe interviewed by Levi

Meet our very first Star Apprentice: Chloe!

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.

Astronaut training for kids

Marianne Hopwood – science teacher, STEM expert and home educator – writes about her experience of working through the Space Diary with her two boys.

Press Coverage

Here is a snapshot of the coverage of the Principia Space Diary during and after Tim Peake’s mission.

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.

How Teacher Feedback Has Improved the Space Diary

Since launching the first edition of the Space Diary in 2015, we have received so many wonderful comments from teachers across the UK.

Meet our closest neighbour

Mars might be about 225 million kilometres away from Earth but it’s still our closest neighbouring planet.

Add Space to your Science Week!

British Science Week 2016 has arrived! To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a list of our favourite space-related experiments for your Space Apprentices. We can’t wait to see how you celebrate Science Week. Don’t forget to use #SpaceDiary on Facebook and Twitter!

Veg in Space! Learn about Space Gardening

Growing plants in space is an important area of research – especially as we need to explore how we might be able to grow food on planets such as Mars.

Exploring our solar system

This month, our Principia Mission Space Diary investigates some of the things astronaut Tim Peake might see in space, like the planets in our solar system.