• Question: Does your work involve any applications for space?

    Asked by kenny13 to Aggelos, Andrew, Eileen, Naomi, Shane on 14 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Andrew Jackson

      Andrew Jackson answered on 14 Nov 2012:

      My work doesnt, but lots of research into animals have inspired some technology that might have applications in space. Insects fold their very delicate wings really neatly into small compartments on their backs and this type of folding has been studied to open reflective umbrellas in space to collect energy from the sun. Also, swarms of ants are really good at being very simple as individuals, but very clever as a group at finding things like food. This type of swarming is being used to design robots that are really simple to program but are really good at searching out remote places for interesting things or mapping the environment like maybe the moon or mars.

    • Photo: Aggelos Zacharopoulos

      Aggelos Zacharopoulos answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      @kenny13,
      my current work of solar energy is not involving space applications. But solar panels have long been used on satelites to provide practically limiteless energy from the sunlight. The solar panels on the satelites provide almost the entire energy that the satelite needs to function for many-many years.

    • Photo: Eileen Diskin

      Eileen Diskin answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      When I was growing up, there was a while when I thought that I wanted to be an astronaut. How cool would it be if you went to work IN space?! But then I realised that I liked animals, so I decided to go into zoology. And well, there aren’t many animals in space (that we know about yet!)

      So for the moment, my work doesn’t have many applications for space. Though I would LOVE to send an experiment up into space one day!!!

    • Photo: Naomi Elster

      Naomi Elster answered on 16 Nov 2012:

      Sadly not 🙁 But I have a whole career in research ahead of me so who knows? A lot of science has applications for space. Technology and physics are perhaps the most obvious, but biology is also very important, in order for us to make sure we can keep astronauts alive and healthy in an environment which is not natural for them, and to understand if life can exist in outer space.

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