Technology in Space
13.10 - 13.45 GMT
Beam in and hear from hidden heroes of the UK space industry revealing their missions and adventures through using an array of technology.
Hosted by the session’s Patron, hear from an awesome panel in academia and industry. Discover how they participate in space missions here on Earth; their journeys from studying to becoming a member of a thriving UK space industry; be inspired by the contribution being made to international space exploration.
Recommended for secondary schools
Patron: Daisy Richardson
Graduate Software Engineer, Goonhilly Earth Station
In 2018, Daisy was part of the winning team for the UK CanSat competition which inspired her to aim for a career within the space industry. After completing her degree in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Leeds, Daisy got accepted onto a SPINternship – an internship programme run by the Satellite Applications Catapult.
Daisy’s internship was with a Welsh start-up called B2Space where she designed an origami space habitat. She had planned to go on and study her masters in Space Science and Engineering, however, after a few weeks Daisy decided to stay on at B2Space as a Junior Aerospace Engineer. She joined the analysis team developing a trajectory prediction and mission planning software for Rockoon flights.
In 2023, after two years at B2Space, Daisy was offered a position as a Graduate Software Engineer at Goonhilly where she now works within their software team. Her role involves designing software that uses orbital mechanics to predict where the antennas should point to track a variety of spacecraft.
Panellist: Sara Motaghian – Space and Planetary Science PhD researcher, Natural History Museum and Imperial College London
Sara is a final year PhD student between the Natural History Museum London and Imperial College London working on some of the instruments on board the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover.
Sara studies the interaction of light and matter to understand the surface of Mars, search for meteorites on the surface and identify areas that might harbour evidence of life. Sara’s PhD focuses on instrument testing and software development for mission data analysis.
Panellist: Dr Joshua Rasera – Postdoctoral Research Associate, Space & Terrestrial Resources Group, Imperial College London
Dr Joshua Rasera is a postdoctoral research associate in the Space and Terrestrial Resource Group at Imperial College London. His research focuses on developing sustainable mineral enrichment techniques for terrestrial mining and advancing mineral processing methods for the Moon and beyond.
Panellist: Drashti Shah – Propulsion Systems Engineer - Bids and Strategy Lead, Thales Alenia Space UK
Drashti is the Bids and Strategy Lead for Propulsion in Thales Alenia Space in the UK. On a day to day basis, Drashti supports the assessment of new opportunities from both a technical and strategic point of view. The range of opportunities require different types of propulsion subsystems (Electric, Chemical and Cold Gas) and are dependent on the various types of missions; ranging from the detection of gravitational waves, intercepting asteroids and even going to the Moon and Mars!
Drashti studied Aeronautical Engineering (MEng) at Imperial College London and joined the space industry in 2019. Over the last five years, she has learnt many aspects of her role from on the job training, working in culturally diverse teams, as part of a European transnational company, and she continues to be excited to explore the unknowns and challenges of designing, developing and delivering propulsion subsystems.
