Outreach

Scientists from the Centre for Planetary Sciences work on a wide variety of public engagement activities across the UK, providing talks to astronomical societies, schools, science festivals, science centres, music festivals, and other venues. CPS researchers contribute projects to the award-winning Orbyts 'research in schools' programme. We also run a series of free public engagement talks, 'Adventures in Planetary Science'.

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Mars Week 2024 Debate: Are human missions essential or are robotics the future?

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Our Mars Week Debate听'Exploring the Moon and Mars: Are human missions essential or are robotics the future?' was a free public engagement event held online, on Thursday 7th March, as part of ESERO-UK and STEM Learning听National Mars Week 2024.

Exploration of our Solar System has never been more exciting with many new space missions planned or on route to their distant destinations, promising to increase our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. Exploring the Moon and Mars has been at the forefront of our endeavours so far making discussion of how essential human-crewed missions are relative to future possibilities with robotic-only missions of great significance.

This event aimed听to highlight both sides of this exciting and topical debate. After hearing from our experts and delving deeper by asking them questions, the audience were听able to cast their听own vote for Team Human or Team Robotic Exploration. Watch here to discover听which team won!听

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We also took part in Mars Week 2023

Adventures in Planetary Science

'Adventures in Planetary Science' is series of free public engagement events with talks by experts from the Centre for Planetary Sciences at 果冻影院/Birkbeck and associated guests on exciting planetary topics, followed by Q&A with the speakers.

Recordings of our events so far.

Orbyts is a multi-award-winning movement that partners scientists with schools to empower school students to undertake world-leading research. Through the Orbyts programme, CPS researchers are partnered with schools to provide pupils with relatable science role models while empowering them to conduct their own original planetary science research projects. Orbyts aims to address diversity issues in science and to support short-supply science teachers who have extensive time pressures.

Eyes on Mars is a public engagement project deisgned to spread awareness of the UK’s involvement in Mars exploration and to inspire school students to pursue a STEM career by providing educational resources. The project was created, and is run, by Catherine Regan and Priya Patel, PhD students at 果冻影院's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, who both have research interests in Mars. Eyes on Mars is supported by funding from the Royal Astronomical Society and UKRI’s Science and Technology Facility Council.

Your Universe

Your Universe is an annual festival of astronomy and particle physics at 果冻影院. It is usually held in March and is open and free of charge to all who are interested. The festival has public lectures, demonstrations and presentations, including meeting scientists to talk about their research, trying out telescopes to observe the Sun, Moon and planets (weather permitting).

Professor Geraint Jones (MSSL) was funded as an STFC Public Engagement Fellow to produce cartoons explaining concepts in space and astronomy. In space, no-one can hear you scribble... Visit astrojots.com to download the free strips!

The Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) podcast, Thinking Space, reports on the exciting engineering and research work carried out at MSSL, including work by CPS planetary scientists based there. Available on , , , and , and they have a dedicated page on .

Our experts

Scientists and engineers in the Centre for Planetary Sciences are involved with a range of public events,听including primary & secondary school visits, exhibitions, and public talks on a wide variety of planetary science topics that are accessible to a range of audiences. Some of our experts are listed below with their specialist subjects.

Professor Andrew Coates听(果冻影院 Mullard Space Science Laboratory, MSSL): exploring the Solar System, weather in space, the Cassini mission, exploring Mars, ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover, PanCam听[].
听(Birkbeck):听planetary science and space exploration, especially lunar exploration, astrobiology (the search for life in the universe), planetary and space governance
Professor Geraint Jones听(果冻影院 MSSL): planetary magnetospheres;听interactions with rings and moons, comet- and dust-solar wind interactions, Cassini-Huygens and Rosetta space missions, ESA Comet Interceptor mission, Astrojots听[].
(果冻影院 MSSL):听planetary science and space exploration, geology,听astrobiology, extremophiles, planetary analogues, Mars exploration,听ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover
Catherine Regan (果冻影院 MSSL): atmospheric science, environmental science, geography, geology, geophysics, physics, exploring the Solar System,听 exploring Mars, Eyes on Mars project听[]
听(果冻影院 Physics and Astronomy):听exoplanets, atmospheric and planetary science, space missions, ARIEL space mission, Twinkle space mission

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An Evening with the Planets:

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'Pluto and Charon -听A Planetary Waltz' was a collaboration between composers Catherine Kontz and Minna Orvokki Nygren. The work was commissioned by the Centre for Planetary Sciences at 果冻影院/Birkbeck and听performed听by pianists Valentina Pravodelov and Kerry Yong听at our annual outreach event听'An Evening with the Planets'听in 2015.

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Snapshots from Space History

Illustration of satellite in orbit, with planets, around a star

Online exhibition of historic space photos from the 果冻影院 MAPS faculty's planetary science archives.听See the photos