Space might be the final frontier, but we’re exploring more of its vastness than ever before. Following news that Bristol will play an integral role in an upcoming mission to Venus, Rosanna Spence speaks to experts at the Bristol Astronomical Society and We The Curious to discover the space economy’s evolving role in the city, and its potential to launch careers that are truly out of this world… Pictured above: Venus in space. The EnVision mission will launch in 2031
Space has never felt closer. Despite technically starting 62 miles from the Earth’s surface, the previously unfathomable universe we call home is becoming less mysterious by the day. Whether its news of a stray SpaceX rocket accidentally bumping into the moon, or the Mars Rover releasing the clearest video footage of the Red Planet yet (complete with jaw-dropping audio, too – it turns out sound travels differently over there), stories from space are helping to knit the cosmic connection between humans and the galaxy more tightly together than ever.
It feels fitting to be writing this on the very day our south west region is preparing to witness the most mesmerising solar eclipse in a generation, with a smattering of the Perseids meteor shower and a major six-planet alignment thrown in on the same evening for good measure.
And though the mood around these celestial events has been one of excitement (bar the dramatic hunt for eclipse-safe glasses), it was only a few weeks before that the space exploration community was left reeling after news that the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, which has housed the UK’s largest telescope for nearly 70 years, had lost its funding, meaning it’s a risk of closure from 2028. This hotspot has trained future astronomers and been fundamental to the UK’s study and understanding of the distant skies above.
“If we don’t invest in national science facilities, instrument labs, and research talent, we risk locking the nation out of the very discoveries space science missions makes possible – and in doing so we’ll also destroy the economic and societal benefits such missions bring forward,” says Chris Lee from the Bristol Astronomical Society. Chris spent 18 years at British Aerospace in Filton before moving to Science Systems in 1998, eventually joining the UK Space Agency in 2014 as Head of International Policy and later Chief Scientist. Despite retiring in 2020, he continues to work with regional leaders – and is definitely the right person to ask about the state of space in Bristol and its local talent’s role in future expeditions.
Mission control
Our city’s contribution to cosmic ventures is about to ramp up: earlier this year it was confirmed that OHB Space UK has plans to expand its current base in the region after being awarded a £20 million contract for the biggest mission to Venus in the history of space exploration (called EnVision). This huge development will mean more than 100 new jobs for local, highly skilled engineers over the next five years and a new, larger state-of-the-art facility at Aztec West where the EnVision spacecraft will be assembled and tested to make sure it’s ready to be launched into space in 2031 (the team has been based at Bristol and Bath Science Park since 2025).
The EnVision mission will study Venus’s geology, atmosphere and climate through satellite to learn how the planet, which is most like Earth, evolved to become uninhabitable and if it used to have a climate more like ours.
This is, of course, incredibly exciting news for anyone interested in the sector. As Marco Fuchs, CEO of OHB SE, says: “Space is booming – and we are growing with it… we are consistently pursuing our growth strategy and sustainably strengthening Europe’s space capabilities.”
It’s also exciting news for people wanting to work and study. The Mayor of the West of England Helen Godwin reacted to the news by saying: “Back here on Earth, we are already home to the industries and engineers who make space flight possible, and with our four incredible universities we have a pipeline of talent for future jobs in this industry.”
The new OHB Space UK is continuing Bristol’s legacy of incredible engineering. Chris notes, “Our city’s space journey proves that brilliant engineering is hard to kill! When major space primes [primary contractors] left the region (twice now), our local talent stayed, adapted, and – as far as I am concerned – has kept the UK’s space science engineering heritage alive.”
Though he admits our local academic sector has historically lagged behind in space engagement (“But the potential is here.”) and other major clusters in the sector have also emerged in Leicester, Harwell and London. Perhaps some healthy competition will help drive innovation?
“Space has shifted toward nimble, data-driven systems – fields where our region excels – such as robotics, autonomous systems, data analytics and cybersecurity,” Chris adds. “To address the gap [between where we strive and thrive], the region established Space West, a business-academic partnership based at the Emersons Green Science Park, designed to build a renewed, unified focus for space across the West of England.”
Starry-eyed
Though momentous events like a near-total solar eclipse can increase interest in universal matters, we shouldn’t take it for granted that everyone is naturally excited about space travel without question. Younger generations have been born into a world where feeling close to the skies above is the norm – plus they might have concerns over investment, resource sharing and sustainability, especially among those experiencing climate anxiety. But we also now often feel we can’t live without our space operations’ benefits.
“Space is an essential part of our modern life,” states Chris. “If we lost satellite technology tomorrow, everyday navigation, weather forecasts, global banking and climate monitoring would instantly grind to a halt. So would inspiration and discovery through our space observatories. However, it’s important to get the language right here about what we mean when we say ‘space exploration’.
“To most people, this implies astronauts, Star Trek, or moon landings. But space itself is fundamentally an operating environment – much like the air, sea, or land.” Even if humans had never ventured into space, he adds, we would still have a multi-billion-pound space economy that operates in that, well, space…
“Space exploration”, from Chris’s perspective, is more about “landing rovers on the Moon or Mars or putting human boots on the ground and exploring the terrain. This also provides inspiration and scientific discovery but, especially with humans in the loop, plays more into geopolitics as much as inspiration because of the costs involved to conduct such missions.”
With space sector jobs increasing in our area, and an improving pipeline from academia to real-world advancements thanks to new centres, surely exploring a career in space is a no-brainer for local teenagers. The reality is slightly more complex. Those aforementioned concerns about climate change, sustainability and public spending are front of mind. Space exploration can sometimes feel difficult to reconcile with those priorities.
Paul Cornish, Planetarium Content Creator for science centre
We The Curious, has collaborated with students at City Academy on two projects in recent years, exploring ideas around the space sector. During those conversations, he found that young people are “acutely aware” of their role as the ones to “live, work, and raise the next generation while living with the conditions caused by climate disruption.”
Because of this, Paul feels that it’s “important to listen to the opinions of young people on the relevance of space science in a time of climate crisis. I can, and have, shared with them how space science contributes to monitoring and combatting climate disruption” He also knows that the most important thing he can do as a science communicator is to listen to their opinions and concerns and acknowledge them as valid.
“I have found that young people today are much more concerned with the ethics of space science than previous generations,” Paul adds. “They are curious about issues such as colonialism or the allocation of money and resources in a time of climate disruption and wealth inequality.
They are, he notes, also curious about the role space science can play in the future of humanity. “Many of them seem to share a fatalistic attitude to the future. They believe that the Earth is irreparably damaged, and they feel helpless and resigned to this. As a result, many of their questions centre around the concept of a ‘Planet B’. They want to know if humanity can make a future for itself on Mars and they see this as a potential benefit of space science.”
Paul cites social media conspiracy theories as the source of many young people’s questions. Despite this, he says, “There is still a sense of wonder to be had among young people when discussing space. Alongside their ethical concerns, there’s still a desire to explore the unknown and discover new things. Many of their questions are about what biological or cultural differences there might be between us and any intelligent alien life that might exist.”
Apparently, the “extreme and abstract physics” of black holes is a particularly fascinating topic. In an age of tremendous knowledge and more clarity than ever before about space – the universe’s mysteries still hold the most power to capture attention and set imaginations alight.
Universal goals
This new generation entering relevant scientific fields – armed with both their valid concerns and sense of wonder – has the potential to really enrich the work of space exploration and positively impact Bristol’s footprint on distant planets. And there are more opportunities available than many people may realise.
“While visiting Bristol schools and discussing space science with young people, we’ve found that they are generally unaware of the local job opportunities that can be found in this sector,” explains Paul, who has personally found that one of the main challenges in communicating the different career paths in this sector is that many young people no longer see space as “something that belongs to everyone”.
“They have grown up with the concept of space as the domain of the very rich and so they don’t see a place for themselves in discussions about space, never mind careers,” he says, adding, “Individual billionaires are becoming more synonymous with space than public organisations. As one young person told us, ‘I don’t know much about NASA but I know about Elon Musk’.”
Leaving billionaires’ playground-like ventures in the air, and sticking with the reality on Bristol soil, there are loads of ways people can enter and engage with space exploration from the ground up.
“Just as you don’t need to be a test pilot to work in aviation, you don’t need to be an astronaut – or even a ‘rocket scientist’ – to have a thriving career in space,” explains Chris. “The rocket is simply the delivery truck; the real value lies in what we do with the systems and the data once in orbit.” He points out four main career needs for the developing space economy over the next decade.
“Firstly, mission and systems engineering will always be needed; the fundamentals of satellite design – the physics and the maths behind control systems, structures, mechanisms, thermal and electronics. Next, I see more need for ‘smarter’ satellites, both the satellites themselves and what we do with the data they identify.
So, we’ll need more software and data engineering skills, covering topics such autonomous flight software and smarter ways to analyse massive volumes of data streaming back from these satellites. Then I’d expect more need for in-orbit infrastructure – and this will require robotics and AI to be used in construction and maintenance. Finally, we will always need business, project management, sales, HR and finance, as with any industrial sector!” Chris believes Bristol and the wider West of England are well-positioned for this.
“The Space West Cluster will play an important role in helping to focus this – not trying to cover all angles but perhaps the one’s with a uniquely regional flavour. And while a lot of focus will rightly be on training early-career graduates through local universities and supporting apprenticeships, our region also has a deep reservoir of experienced mid-career talent in adjacent sectors like aerospace, defence, and energy. For me, transferring those skills into space businesses is one of the biggest growth opportunities we have.”
Spaced out?
Acknowledging contextual concerns, there’s no denying that it feels like our region is entering an exhilarating period of growth in space exploration, simultaneously evolving legacy talent and welcoming in new ideas. As we continue to embark on missions that make sci-fi storylines a reality (or as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk put it, ‘to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before’), we must remember not to have our head in the clouds.
“The most important thing we can do is listen [to young people],” urges Paul. “We need to demonstrate that they do in fact have a voice and that their opinions and concerns can affect the outcome and direction of these discussions [about space exploration]. We don’t need to tell young people how great science is. That curiosity and sense of wonder is already there. We just need to show them that expressing that curiosity is worth their time.”
And who better to prove that careers in the space sector can be much more like shooting stars than black holes, leaving a sparkling trail to follow in his wake, than Chris. After all these years working in the industry, what still inspires him to look up at the night sky?
“Whether looking up at distant galaxies or looking down at our own fragile Earth, it is ultimately the same perspective. It reinforces just how unique and vulnerable Earth can be, and that space technology offers our best tools for monitoring and protecting it. My hope is that Bristol reclaims its position as an international space hub, using technology and science to help protect our planet for the next generation and yet continuing to support missions that explore the universe itself for its sheer delight.”
For more information about the Bristol Astronomical Society and to become a member, head to bristolastrosoc.org.uk | Learn more about the wonders of the universe in the Planetarium at We The Curious, book at wethecurious.org | Discover more about OHB Space UK’s expansion in the city via ohb.de/en
