Sian Cleaver, a 36-year-old engineer from Chelmsford, is helping to prepare for the groundbreaking Artemis II lunar mission. She is currently employed at Airbus in Bremen, Germany. Together with her team, she’s worked on creating expansive solar arrays for the European Service Module, which will provide power to the Orion spacecraft as it travels to the Moon.
The Artemis II mission, scheduled to carry four astronauts around the Moon for a ten-day expedition, marks a significant milestone in space exploration. It’ll be the farthest humans have gone from the lunar surface since 1972. Cleaver’s work on the European Service Module is vital, as it provides the necessary energy for the crew’s travel.
A Chelmsford native, Cleaver has had a lifelong dream of being a part of missions to space. Her zeal for the space industry has truly come to fruition through her work in human spaceflight. She is especially looking forward to seeing everybody some of the new space exploration with a younger generation of people.
“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
So does David Morris, chief engineer for space imaging at Teledyne e2v in Chelmsford, who supports Cleaver’s vision. Collectively, they’re optimistic about the new age of space exploration. His lab is known for designing cutting-edge imaging devices that eventually make their way into deep space explorations. He second Cleaver’s enthusiasm for the excitement surrounding the Artemis II mission.
“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
Through the Artemis II mission, NASA will once again return humans to the Moon. Beyond the Moon, Artemis provides a key underpinning to ensure that future astronauts can make the journey to Mars. As Cleaver notes, that mission will be historic for many generations that have never witnessed a human-crewed moon landing.
“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 and her team contributed to designing, constructing, testing and operating the propulsion system that helps the Orion spacecraft reach orbit. Soon, this ambitious spacecraft will begin its historic journey. The excitement surrounding the mission underscores a renewed interest in human space exploration, igniting curiosity and inspiration for future generations.
“To experience that with a whole new load of people on this Earth I think is going to be really special. It’s also just the first step on our journey to Mars.” – Sian Cleaver