I attended the 9th Australian Space Forum on 19 February at the Adelaide Convention Centre. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Premier Steven Marshall and Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews and Andy Thomas were just some of the VIP guests that I was lucky enough to hear speak about the growth & development of the Space Industry.
We learned it is going to have an impact on many industries such as mining, fishing, farming and communication, and will increase new opportunities for new jobs. The government predicts another 20,000 jobs by 2030.
There is now a Space Agency located in Adelaide within the development of Lot Fourteen, the new innovation hub for space research, innovation, entrepreneurship, defence, cyber, machine learning and future industries. The Australian Space Discovery Centre and Mission Control will be also located here, which will give the students an opportunity to visit and explore and have close up encounters with the International Space Station.
I was surprised at the many different types of jobs that connect to the Space Industry: lawyers, architects, health & medicine, mechanics, tourism operators, psychologists, mining and many more. An example where space will be developing is precision agriculture, which relies on satellite GPS (geographic positioning systems) for extremely precise measurements to position farm equipment within centimetres of accuracy. It also uses earth observation to predict crop yields and estimate where and how much fertilizer and pesticides to apply.
Karen Andrews MP said, “Using space technology can improve our emergency management such as bushfires, delivering health and medicine to remote parts of Australia and using automated technology machinery within the mining areas of the Pilbara. These are just some of the benefits which will bring strength to the economy”.
I was extremely fascinated by two amazing and interesting young women, Vienna Tran an inspiring space doctor studying the Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery at the University or Adelaide, and Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith, Australia’s first Women in STEM Ambassador and a Professor of Practice in Science Communication at UNSW Sydney.
Vienna encouraged all young people to attend workshops, school experiences, talks and to look at STEM in early years. Vienna said, “Have a ‘shed’ culture in the early years. Pull things apart, build, create and have a purpose, a real life set up. If we can relate to the real world, then Maths and Science isn’t as scary as some might think, and if we can include some story telling from the community to encourage students to explore and create. Watch the movie Hidden Figures, this is inspiring!”
Vienna also believes S T E M (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) should be S T E A M M - Science, Technology, Arts, Maths and Medicine, where ‘Arts’ and the creative process should be included to help solve problems, and ‘M’ to encourage Medicine.
Dr Lisa Harvey-Smith thought we could rename Engineering in Schools to encourage more girls to become confident about having a go. She believes Space will be in the curriculum in the near future.
I met the Southern Launch Space Company director and staff, who are aiming to bring their rocket launchers to Whalers Way. I am looking forward to the day when we can go on excursions with our students to see the rockets being launched.
The day was very informative and inspiring. I hope that we can all appreciate the future we will have in the Space Industry. Maybe next time the Prime Minister will have time to have a cup of tea with me.
Amanda Coote
Careers & Education Support Officer
St Joseph's School,
Port Lincoln
