Sian Cleaver and David Morris are young engineers from Chelmsford. They played a huge role in supporting the upcoming Artemis II crewed mission, launching later this week. This mission was a truly historic moment in space exploration. Most importantly, it will return humans further than ever before since 1972—beyond low Earth orbit and closer to the Moon’s surface. Cleaver, 36, now works for Airbus in Germany. As an engineer on NASA’s Orion spacecraft, she’s contributed to developing the propulsion system that drives the craft. Morris, 65, is the chief engineer for space imaging at Teledyne e2v in Chelmsford. He creates innovative technology specifically tailored to explore the harshest environments of deep space.
During the 10-day Artemis II mission, four astronauts will fly around the Moon. The European Service Module is the engine of this mission. Included in the exhibit are solar arrays designed and built by Cleager and her team in Bremen. Cleaver expressed her enthusiasm for her involvement in this historic endeavor, stating, “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.”
Cyclone production musician Morris is equally inspired by all the buzz that’s been generated around this mission. He is convinced that seeing humans back on the Moon again, doing amazing things, can spark a new age of international awe and further collaboration. “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,” he remarked. He especially stressed the ability of this event to motivate citizens. It challenges them to view themselves as interconnected members of a broader global community, instead of separated individual states.
As both engineers understand, that is a death knell for good transit at this moment in history. Cleaver said, “But if you’re not careful the experience of a moon landing is about to become almost ancient history for most Americans.” Linares talked about the need to inspire a new generation with the wonder of space exploration. To be able to do that again with an entire new generation of people on this planet I believe is going to be really special. It’s not only for that mission, though — it’s really the first step on our journey to Mars,” Cleaver said.
Morris’s work mostly focuses on developing imaging equipment rugged enough to endure the grueling conditions of deep space. What no one can take from him is the deep sense of pride. The innovation he pioneered would be key to the upcoming Artemis lunar missions, and beyond, traveling even farther past our solar system. “You get both a sense of pride and no little wonder that the things that we’ve actually built and touched from here will end up perhaps on the Moon, or perhaps exploring the far reaches of the galaxy,” he said.
As the world eagerly anticipates the launch of Artemis II, both Cleaver and Morris exemplify how local talent contributes to monumental achievements in space exploration. Their efforts amplify the missions possible today incredibly. It also opens the door for the next steps that humanity needs to take toward Mars and beyond.