Do You Want a Job in Space?

Space Workers Required.

Growing up in the 1980’s watching science fiction TV series, it wasn’t hard to imagine a future where we would all be working and living in outer space. As an adult, I realized that these fantasies were make-believe or are they?

With recent technological advancements, these childhood dreams could in actual fact become a reality. The UK government alone has predicted over 100,000  space jobs in the next 5-10 years.

Both businesses and governments can see the potential in space, which has been proven through funding being allocated to space innovators and scientists.  If space is the final frontier, the question you need to ask yourself is what space positions could you be employed in?

Space Miners

Recently the NASA-funded lunar research project has discovered evidence of water locked in mineral grains on the moon, which scientists believe originates from deep within the moon’s interior. Our knowledge of the make up of planets is increasing as research into projects such as magnetic water provides clues and an new understanding of how planets were formed.

Planetary geologists could play a vital role in the future discoveries of minerals and ores that we could use back on earth. With the earth’s natural supply of coal and oil dwindling, our next step maybe to mine and drill for these resources on orbiting planets.

It’s not just fueling resources on planets that we could mine. There is a  potential to find gold, starting of a new space gold rush. Gold and silver are formed through fusion inside of a star. When the earth was being created after the big bang, other stars exploded scattering heavy metals throughout the universe.

If gold and silver were created in the earth’s core, it would all be melted due to the intense heat, which means after the earth solidified, gold and silver hit the earth in the form of a large asteroid shower.

And if these asteroids hit the earth they may have hit other nearby planets too. Future generations could have the age-old job of gold mining or “forty-niners” as they were originally called. The future gold rush won’t see people panning for gold  in streams; it will be a more high tech operation using drilling and engineering technology.

Space Watchers

We have seen an increase in the number of satellites orbiting the earth.  These satellites are the eyes of the earth, saving employers both time and money. As an example, a construction project manager no-longer needs to leave their office to view how the project is progressing.

Instead, they can log into a  website that program’s the satellite, sending live images of how the project progresses.

The Google team have seen the potential of space, and recently launched its  Lunar X-PRIZE, where they want a private company to launch a rocket, safely land it on the surface of the Moon, make it travel for 500 meters above, below, or on the Lunar surface, and finally to send back two “Moon-casts” to Earth.

The prize is worth $40 Million, which is an example of the type of investment companies are committed to investing in the space sector.

One future space job will be asteroids watching. We know that asteroids killed of the dinosaurs and we don’t want the same thing to happen to the human race. NASA recently announced that it will launch a survey telescope to search for near-earth asteroids. These early warning systems may save thousands of lives in the event of asteroids hitting the earth. In the USA president Obama has even outlined plans that could see astronauts land on an asteroid.

This paranoia is a real threat, last year over 1000 people were injured in  Russia when a 40-ton meteor traveling at 33,000 mph explodes over a terrified town.

Space Holidays

Space could be the next destination for the holidaymaker. Virgin and Richard  Branson are already ahead of the game with this new sector, recently launching the world’s first spaceline – The Virgin Galactic.

This groundbreaking opportunity to holiday in space as one of the first-ever non-professional astronauts is a dream that can now be fulfilled. “The deal with  Mojave Aerospace Ventures is just the start of what we believe will be a new era  in the history of mankind, one day making the affordable exploration of space by  human beings a real possibility.” Richard Branson.

This could be just the start. We could soon be holidaying on Virgin space stations or booking accommodation on planets using advanced technologies to  provide air and water.

Dennis Tito the world’s first space tourist, recently launched a project to send a married couple into space to circulate the planet Mars, a trip lasting  500 days.

The trip costing over a £1 Billion pounds may not be a trip future  tourist could afford but the investment again shows the commitment business  leaders are having when it comes to space holidays