• Question: What type of scientist could I be considering I'm very interested in space?

    Asked by annabel to Duncan, Kiran, Paul, Sarah, Sharon on 23 Mar 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Duncan Murdock

      Duncan Murdock answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      You could be an astronomer or astrophysicist and study how the planets, stars and galaxies work. I think space is fascinating too (but I like fossils more).

    • Photo: Paul Stevenson

      Paul Stevenson answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      It depends a little on what bit of space excites you most. Physics (and astronomy, which is usually considered as a branch of physics) is the obvious one – it concerns the structure of the universe, how planets orbit, how stars work, how galaxies form and things like that, but biologists and chemists and geologists are needed to understand how other planets work and how to search for life on those planets. It’s probably a good idea to keep your physics going if you are interested in space, no matter which area you end up in.

    • Photo: Sharon Sneddon

      Sharon Sneddon answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Well, the obvious answer would be an astronaut, but only a really small number of people are lucky enough to become them! If you are interested in how things get to space, then you could maybe consider engineering of some sort. Aerospace or Aeronautical Engineers, Avionics & Instrumentation Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Robotics Engineers all come to mind!
      The other field that would allow you to work on “space stuff” would be physics, that would open lots of doors for a space based career, have a look at Paul’s profile and see if you fancy what he does.
      If you are interested more in biology, then lots of biologists also work on space related things, for example many researchers are investigating ways to develop new medications from substances discovered during space exploration trips.

      Have you had a look at the NASA website, it’s really great if you are interested in space!

    • Photo: Sarah Mount

      Sarah Mount answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      There are lots of different problems about space and space travel that scientists work on. In fact, almost any branch of science is related to space in some what. For example, astrophysicists study space by looking at it through telescopes or probes such as Hubble (or just by doing lots of maths) but nutritionists and physiologists study how astronauts can stay healthy on manned space flights. Computer Science has a big input too. There are usually several computers on board a space shuttle, all doing the same thing, then when a decision has to be made by the computers they all vote on it, this is to keep the astronauts safe in case one of the computers malfunctions.

    • Photo: Kiran Meekings

      Kiran Meekings answered on 23 Mar 2010:

      Space eh? That’s pretty cool – I visited the Kennedy space center when I was around your age… It depends whether you like maths as well? If you like maths, you could look into theories about things work in space or if you like engineering and building things, you could make space shuttles. Or if you like stars, you could be an astronomer, or maybeeeee you could be an astronaut!!!

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