Ana Paula Castro de Paula Nunes

Job: Heat Shield Product Lead at Space Forge.

What do you do? I help develop the technology to return our satellites from space safely back to Earth.

Hobbies: I love playing volleyball, going for walks in nature and watching good movies with popcorn and some treats.

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Ambitious, a bit stubborn, playful.

How did you get to where you are now? It was a long ride. I am originally from Brazil, but I always knew I wanted to study and work abroad. So first I had to learn English at school. It took me three attempts to get accepted to study aerospace engineering, but midway through my degree, I applied and was granted a scholarship to study in the UK.

I then got selected to go to China to study space law and policy. It was an amazing and very different experience, but the decision to go to China also brought me amazing opportunities such as working for the United Nations in Vienna and becoming an analogue space astronaut in a mock-up lunar mission in a volcano in Hawaii! After all these life-changing experiences, I knew I wanted to continue working in space and something related to sustainability, then I found Space Forge and fell in love with what the company was trying to achieve!

What inspired you to choose your job? My excitement for space, adventures and wanting to work in a place that is helping Earth become a better place for future generations.

What is the best thing about what you do? It is very challenging, which also means I am learning something every day. The people I work with are also incredibly smart and helpful.

Is your job hard or dangerous or fun? It is both hard and fun. Once we send the satellites to space (the hard part), bringing them back to Earth will be very fun!

What are the people you work with like? They are very diverse as they come from different places in the work and have different expertise. But they all are incredibly smart and helpful, and we love solving challenges together!

If you were going to space, what is the one personal/luxury item you would bring? Probably a device with hundreds of songs! Space can be very lonely as your family and friends are far away, so some music will help keep you going!

Ben Dryer

Job: Space Instrumentation Research Fellow at The Open University.

What do you do? The Sun emits dangerous particles, on Earth we are shielded from them by our magnetic field, but in space those particles can damage equipment. I help to understand how these particles damage cameras that take pictures of other planets, so we get the best images possible back from space.

Hobbies: Cycling, swimming.

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Curious, approachable, collaborative.

How did you get to where you are now? I didn’t know what I wanted to when I finished school. I was passionate about teaching, and good at physics. I studied physics at university as it was the subject I was most interested in but wasn’t sure if it would lead to a career. I spent a year in industry where I became interested in doing a physics related PhD, and that grew into a research fellowship where I get to work on space missions and teach space science. It’s a perfect balance of all the things I was interested in when I was younger, although I didn’t plan to end up here!

What is the best thing about what you do? Things I work on go into space! I work with large international teams of scientists, and we have worked on cameras that have flown on major European Space Agency and Nasa missions. Everyone is interested in space and is excited about my work, it’s such a pleasure to be able to talk with people about that.

Is your job hard or dangerous or fun? It’s certainly fun (and a little bit nerve-wracking) to watch a rocket launch with something you’ve worked on for years on-board. Space missions are expensive and unique so we try to plan for (and stop) things going wrong, and that can take a long time and a lot of hard work.

What are the people you work with like? I’m lucky to work with people from all over the world. It takes hundreds of people with different backgrounds and experiences to make space missions work, and it’s key to have people with different ideas and approaches. We all believe that pushing the boundaries of understanding our universe can lead to breakthroughs closer to home that improve our lives and society.

If you were going to space, what is the one personal/luxury item you would bring? My Kindle with a selection of books (mostly sci-fi!).

Beth Clarke

Job: PhD student in the Applied Space Technology Laboratory at the University of Strathclyde.

What do you do? I spend my time learning about space, and how satellites can be kept safe. I am making new computer technology to help satellites tell each other where they are in space, to help them not crash into each other.

Hobbies: Running, hiking, blogging, reading and stargazing. I’m also trying to learn German!

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Joyful, curious, and impatient!

How did you get to where you are now? I was the first person in my family to go to university, and I got a degree in physics with astrophysics. I learned computer coding at university, and found it really interesting, so after graduating I did a software development apprenticeship. I then worked for five years as a software engineer, testing things like satellite constellations before deciding I wanted to start studying again and pursuing my PhD.

What inspired you to choose your job? I have loved space since I was a child. I grew up in the countryside and could see the stars from my garden. I’ve spent my life in awe of the universe and our place in it. It is important to me that my work makes the world, and space, a better place, and that’s what my career empowers me to do.

What is the best thing about what you do? I get to spend each day reading about cutting-edge technology in satellite communications, and work with incredible people from all over the world to create new ideas of how we can use that technology to make space more sustainable for future generations. It’s like watching science fiction become reality!

Is your job hard or dangerous or fun? Creating new technology is exciting and fun, and I love problem solving, but it can be challenging. Those challenges add to the fun of my job though because it means every day is different!

What are the people you work with like? Everyone I work with is incredibly inspiring. They are all working towards the goal of making space safer and more sustainable, and looking for new ways to use space technology to help improve life on Earth through applications including using satellite images to help rescue boats get out to sea. They’re also all quite funny, which makes for a good environment in our lab!

If you were going to space, what is the one personal/luxury item you would bring? I have a huge sweet tooth, so I’d probably try and smuggle some sweets into space. Maybe some Chewits!

Jessie Hamill-Stewart

Job: Space and Cyber-Security PhD Candidate at the University of Bath.

What do you do? Satellites are really important to our everyday lives. I look at how satellites can be attacked from the ground to disrupt our lives somehow.

Hobbies: Baking cakes, walking, reading.

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Enthusiastic, independent and cheerful.

How did you get to where you are now? I have always been fascinated by space but was never very good at science in school. I went to university to study politics and international relations and became interested in the politics of cyberspace. I decided to learn about computer science then took an amazing opportunity to look more closely at cyber-attacks in space!

What is the best thing about what you do? I can research the areas that interest me most, and I also have the brilliant opportunity to meet other people who also look at space and cyber around the world.

Is your job hard or dangerous or fun? It is really fun to investigate security in space, but sometimes can be challenging because a lot of time and effort is required to do good meaningful research. The attacks I investigate could be dangerous for a lot of people.

What are the people you work with like? I work with a variety of people, who are both older and younger, and all very intelligent. I love speaking to different people and hearing their different perspectives.

If you were going to space, what is the one personal/luxury item you would bring? I would bring a box of praline chocolates!

Meri Martinez Galisteo

Job: Business Graduate at Astroscale.

What do you do? I am a space sweeper! I work with lots of people to help make sure that space is clean and tidy so that we can carry on using it for things, like the internet and weather forecasting, and still be able to reach the moon and beyond!

Hobbies: Dancing, singing, swimming.

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Kind, energetic and empathetic.

What inspired you to choose your job? As an aerospace engineer, I knew how the engineering side of things could work but never thought about the business side of the space industry. So, I wanted to explore and learn everything about it. I discovered space debris when I chose my thesis, and I saw the big problem that is happening now and that can be in the future.

What is the best thing about what you do? Every day is a school day! Everyday I’m learning something new, working with different people and discovering what challenge space is bringing to us.

Is your job hard or dangerous or fun? It is so fun! Sometimes it gets busy, and it can be hard at times, but being challenged is part of the what makes the job enjoyable. Space in general is a challenging field as a lot of things need to be considered to make sure that we can get things right first time. Space is huge, but there are many objects out there that we now need to consider to be able to continue to make the most of it from the Earth.

What are the people you work with like? They are the best thing about my job. They are fun, kind, hard-working, and always happy to help. I can ask, listen and learn from all of them, their different backgrounds and experiences help me to have an open mind, and to understand space and people from different perspectives which is very important – I think this is so cool.

If you were going to space, what is the one personal/luxury item you would bring? I would bring my camera so I can keep forever the experiences and views from out there, and visit space again anytime I want.