If you’re an aspiring astronaut, have watched Interstellar more times than you can count, or simply spend most of your nights gazing up at the sky, our guide to World Space Week is just for you!
In celebration of World Space Week (AKA, the single largest space event on Earth) exciting events and education opportunities are popping up all across the world! The best part? They’re all aimed to increase public education about astronomy jobs and inspire the next generation of the space industry’s workforce! How cool is that?
So, if you want to know how you can get involved, read on: we have tips and tricks for getting the most out of this World Space Week and launching an out of this world career!
What is World Space Week
World Space Week’s mission is all about empowering the next generation of astro-change makers, so you know it’s one that we want to get behind. We could give you our spiel, but World Space Week Executive Director Alma Okpalefe put it best when she said that the organisation:
“Aims to inspire tomorrow’s space workforce to envision and pursue entrepreneurial ventures in space. By highlighting the innovative spirit of entrepreneurs, we seek to pave the way for sustainable and inclusive growth in space industries”
Pretty cool purpose, right? And what’s more, there have also been some mind-blowing events in celebration of the event, including:
- Workshops, parachute tests and planetarium sessions
- Directly talking with a real-life astronaut on the ISS
- A ‘Space and Entrepreneurship” expo with NASA, Boeing and Blue Origin
With their impressive record in mind, it’s no surprise that we’re so excited for this year’s iteration!
This Year’s Theme: Space and Climate Change
When you think of space exploration and astronomy careers, sustainability isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, according to World Space Week, space technology has a super transformative impact on the ongoing battle against climate change!
Help be the change we need to see in the space industry by getting involved in this year’s celebrations (and if you want to try out a game designed to teach you about sustainability in space, try out Space Protecter now)!
Events in Australia
If you live in Brisbane, you’ll have the opportunity to attend one of those incredible events that we were talking about! Below are seven exciting opportunities that we encourage you to take full advantage of to truly make the most of World Space Week.
If you’re looking for more info, simply head over to World Space Week’s Australia Events page.
#1 Space Technology, Diversity and Sustainability Breakfast
Queensland, October 3rd
#2 Festival of Astronomy and Space: A Comet’s Tale
Queensland, October 4th
#3 Global Space Challenge
Queensland, October 5th
#4 Orbiting Opportunities Evening
Queensland, October 10th
#5 Festival of Astronomy and Space: Space Instruments
Queensland, October 10th
#6 Festival of Astronomy and Space: Keynote Talk, When Galaxies Collide
Queensland, October 11th
#7 Festival of Astronomy and Space: All Your Space Questions Answered
Queensland, October 12th
Why Space and STEM Go Hand-in-Hand
If we’re being honest, you’d be hard-pressed to find an astronomy or space career that doesn’t involve some element of STEM. Want to build rocket ships and safely transport astronauts into outer space? That’s an engineering role! Want to look for aliens and research the possibility of life on other planets? That role is biology based! Want to know how the universe works and uncover truths about the cosmos? You’ll need a strong backing in physics!
Essentially, what we’re trying to say is that all astronomy careers require at least a little bit of STEM knowledge, so you’ll want to pay close attention in your science classes!
What Are Astronomy Careers?
When most of us think of astronomy careers, we usually think of astronauts. However, there are a tonne of other exciting astro-jobs just waiting to be discovered, and today we’re going to introduce you to a few!
Astrophysicist
The work of astrophysicists is tricky to describe, but we’ll give it our best shot. Essentially, they use their advanced knowledge of maths, physics and astronomy to understand matter (such as planets and stars) across the universe! If you want to be the one to solve the big astronomy questions, this might just be the perfect job for you!
Planetarium Director
Planetariums are basically museums that cater purely to the cosmos, and their directors determine the direction they’re taken in. From overseeing and directing exhibitions, leading fundraising efforts and securing the museums artefacts, planetarium directors do it all!
Aerospace Engineer
Aerospace engineering is a field focused purely on designing aircrafts that can withstand trips beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Those who take on this role will actually be designing the spaceships that take astronauts to the moon: how cool is that?
Cosmologist
Cosmology roles are a subcategory of metaphysics and revolves around the study of the universe and how things work. People in these roles get to make some pretty incredible discoveries: to put it in perspective Stephen Hawking was a cosmologist!
Astrobiologist
Do you believe in aliens? Astrobiologists do (or at least, they believe in the possibility of life beyond earth)! Those working in this role attempt to understand how life originates and the survivability of different environments. Imagine discovering a whole new life form – exciting idea, right?
Astronomy Careers FAQ
Just in case you have some unresolved space-related questions, we’ve put together a FAQ list for all of you future astro-innovators! Once you’ve gone over the below, you’ll be ready to start planning your out of this world career.
Question: What Are the Fields in Astronomy
Answer: There are a tonne of different fields of astronomy, but some of the most exciting are astro statistics, exoplanets, instrumentation, planetary sciences, theoretical astrophysics and much more!
Question: Do You Need a Degree for an Astronomy Career
Answer: Unfortunately, there are very few astronomy careers that don’t require degrees. However, we encourage you to see this as a good thing: just think about all the exciting things you’ll learn while studying!
Question: What Skills are Needed to Work in Astronomy?
Answer: To work in astronomy, you need a strong knowledge of science, critical thinking abilities, problem solving abilities and creativity!
Question: Is Astronomy a Cool Career
Answer: Absolutely, it is! In fact, astronomers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.9 out of 5 (which is pretty impressive)!
Launch Your Career into the Stratosphere
Now that you’re equipped with a tonne of knowledge about astronomy careers, it’s time to start thinking about how you can launch an out-of-this-world career (and what better time to do so than during World Space Week? Keep exploring your options by heading over to our employer page and navigating to the STEM section today!
