Sian Cleaver Sian, 36, from Chelmsford, is a space engineer. She is an integral part of NASA’s forthcoming Artemis II mission that will take four astronauts on a multi-day journey around the Moon. As a project manager with their space division in Bremen, Germany, she and her team have recently been working on producing enormous solar arrays. These arrays would go on to be instrumental for the European Service Module, the workhorse of the spacecraft of this historic journey. The mission will launch later this week and represents humanity’s closest return to the Moon since 1972.
Cleaver’s contribution to the first crewed Artemis II mission represents a singular personal achievement. It’s a big leap into the future of space exploration and colonization. The ten-day-long mission will send sailors farther than they’ve traveled in decades. Cleaver couldn’t be happier to be helping to frame such an important, historic endeavor.
“I always wanted to work in the space industry and now I am doing that on a human space flight mission, which for me is a dream come true.” – Sian Cleaver
Her commitment to widening participation in space exploration started well before she took on this role. As Cleaver grew up, the one thing he always knew he wanted to do was become an astronaut. Today, she’s deep into the development of some of the very elements of the spacecraft that will return humans to the lunar surface.
The Artemis II mission is not simply a crewed voyage around the Moon. This new era Our planet is entering a new era of exploration and design. One of the shepherds of this mission, NASA administrator Bill Nelson, hopes this mission can create that same global excitement as the historic moon landing in 1969. She included that this will be one exceptional experience. Thousands of young people will be the ones to usher in this historic event.
“There are a couple of generations who haven’t lived through a moon landing; it’s almost becoming ancient history in a way,” – Sian Cleaver
Cleaver’s team in Bremen has been instrumental in constructing the solar power systems that will support the European Service Module throughout its journey. These solar arrays will generate the power needed to support all phases of the mission from launch through operations.
In discussing the broader implications of the Artemis II mission, Cleaver stated, “To experience that with a whole new load of people on this Earth I think is going to be really special. It’s just the first step on our journey to Mars.”
Fellow engineer David Morris further reinforced Cleaver’s feelings about the importance of this mission. He commented on the opportunity to re-ignite public enthusiasm for exploration and achieve a sense of global connectedness.
“If you look back to what happened in 1969 and the transformational aspects of seeing men on the Moon, I’d like to think that similar global excitement can happen when we see it happen again,” – David Morris
Even as the countdown to launch starts, Cleaver continues to be all business. She uses that lens to look back at how far humanity has come, and consider where we could go in the years ahead. With Artemis II, NASA will return humans to lunar orbit for the first time since Apollo. It opens the door for more future exploration of our solar system, including some thrilling upcoming missions to Mars.