Sian Cleaver, a 36-year-old space engineer from Chelmsford, is one of the command post operators for the forthcoming Artemis II mission. This mission will carry four astronauts on an exhilarating trip around the Moon. Cleaver hypothetically works for Airbus in Germany. He’s been helping lead the work on the European Service Module, which will provide propulsion and other capabilities that support the crew’s journey. The mission is scheduled to launch later this week. This will be the nearest humans have been to the lunar surface since 1972!
Cleaver’s team at Airbus has years of successful experience designing and building large solar arrays, including the arrays for the European Service Module. This power module is especially essential for bringing the right amount of energy needed throughout the 10-day mission. The Artemis II mission is critical to NASA’s overall strategy of returning humans back to the lunar environment. This mission will really set the stage for all future exploration on and around Mars.
David Morris, chief engineer for space imaging at Teledyne e2v, based in Chelmsford, said he was thrilled to be part of the mission. Now at 65 years of age, he shares with us the remarkable historical impact of exploring our moon. Morris believes that witnessing humans return to the Moon will evoke a sense of excitement similar to that felt during the Apollo missions.
“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. It will invigorate the world to think more about being ‘the world’ rather than just lots of separate nations.” – David Morris
Morris further touched on the idea of inspiring future generations. He noted that at least one and perhaps two generations have gone without the experience of a moon shot. Thus, in a way, it’s making the almost like recent history. Indeed, he says Artemis II is not just a mission, it’s a movement. More importantly, it lays the groundwork for exciting exploration to come on Mars!
Cleaver, who shared her childhood dream of joining the space industry, echoed this sentiment. She was speaking in general terms when she commented on how fulfilling it is to contribute to a human spaceflight mission.
“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
She further 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.”
As preparations for Artemis II continue, both Cleaver and Morris serve as reminders of the collaborative effort required in advancing human space exploration. There are important implications from their contributions, not just for the success of this mission, but in inspiring the next generation to go beyond our home planet.