Alnwick firm helps young scientists shoot for the stars with chance to help NASA

MSP, whose products enable manufacturers to achieve lights-out production and full automation, has become a sponsor of Starlight Education and ISSET’s Mission Discovery programme, a five-day course led by NASA astronauts which promises to offer an incredible opportunity for young people.

Kicking off on October 25 in Newcastle, the course aims to teach students about space, STEM subjects and provide leadership skills through a variety of fascinating practical activities.

During the programme, participants will follow a design brief and propose an idea for their own science experiment that would benefit the human race, either on Earth, the Moon or beyond.

At the end of the course, the students will present their ideas to the Mission Discovery Judges, with the best experiment chosen to be built at NASA and launched to the International Space Station where it will be conducted by the astronauts on board.

The Mission Discovery programme was first launched in 2011 and, during that time, has worked with over 7,000 students and sent 33 different experiments, on eight different rockets, into space and onto the International Space Station.

Marianne Whitfield, MSP’s director of development, played an integral role in the organisation of the firm’s sponsorship.

She said: “To have the chance to say ‘an experiment I created was conducted on the International Space Station’ is incredible.

“Opportunities like this don’t come around very often and I’m delighted MSP’s sponsorship opens the programme up to young people who might not have had the chance otherwise.

“At MSP, we continuously look for opportunities to boost STEM activities in the North East and I can’t think of a better fit than this.

"Not only will the programme be fantastic for the students to learn about space, it will also be a great chance to develop their teamwork, communication and presentation skills.

"I look forward to seeing their imagination run wild with this challenge and hope it sparks a huge interest for them to pursue a career in STEM.”

Along with the other sponsors, MSP’s support will give the opportunity for 500 young people to take part in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

MSP is recognised as a driving force for achieving quality in complex manufacturing processes in various sectors, one of which is the space industry.

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