NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has just announced that they are to build and deploy a small, autonomous rotorcraft, (helicopter to you and I), that will head for Mars in a scheduled rover mission in 2020. But why should we be interested in something that will occur on an object that is 54.6 million kilometres from our home here on Earth?
NASA is an organisation that has pushed boundaries since its inception in 1958, and is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary. During NASA’s incredible history, it has combined science and engineering to be at the forefront of discovery and exploration which has captured the hearts and minds of generations. This new mission will test and challenge some brilliant minds to overcome the problem of sustaining flight in a very thin atmosphere. NASA prides itself on innovation and finding solutions to problems most of us don’t even know exist and the organisation relishes the challenge of ensuring the general public maintains a vested interest in all of its developments.
So why should we be interested in this latest news? In short, we should be interested because NASA encompasses our human instinct to discover and explore. NASA’s rich history has led to important scientific and engineering technologies that have been, are and will be used in the future. Without this history, we would all know a little bit less of the universe we live in and would not have access to the countless technological capabilities that play a huge role in our daily lives.
We can, and perhaps should, apply NASA’s model and aspirations to our own lives which could encourage us all to think big and to think outside the box. The hope is for future generations to be inspired by these stories and develop complex problem solving skills to allow this fascinating work to continue. It will involve pushing the boundaries even further so that even greater discoveries can be made in the future.
Ross Bristow (Head of Science)