Careers in Space

Careers in Space

The big space agency in Europe is called ESA (European Space Agency), their website actually has some good links to outreach style activities and articles (esa.int).

Physics helps us understand and explore space the big things that are important are:   

• Understanding how to build the lenses and mirrors needed for good telescopes
• How to use electrical circuits to collect the data and images
• Understanding how to build the rockets needed to put satellites in space
• Understanding how to put the satellites into the best orbit to collect good images
• Studying stars and planets helps us understand how atmospheric physics works, which can help us understand global warming and climate change

The application of physics and knowledge of space in our society include development of:

• Planetary exploration e.g. the mars rover
• Studying the history of the universe
• Google maps
• Sat Nav
• GPS
• Television signals
• Monitoring deforestation and weather for climate change
• Plans to visit other planets e.g. mars