NASA visit to Fife - video transcript
Queen Anne High school in Dunfermline welcomed secondary school pupils from across Fife to an event organised by Careers Scotland which highlighted the importance of science and technology careers. The pupils heard presentations from NASA astronaut Bill McArthur and NASA engineer Heather Paul.
Bill has flown a number of times to the International Space Station and includes two space walks in his experience. Heather is a project engineer working on designs for the next generation of space suits that astronauts will wear on the Moon and Mars. The astronauts told the pupils about their careers and spoke of the importance of studying science and technology based subjects at school
After the event Queen Anne High school pupils Jamie Duff and Joanne Somerville spoke to Heather and Bill
Interview with Heather
Jamie: Hi Heather
Heather: Hi
Jamie: What's your role in NASA?
Heather: Well, Jamie, I am a project engineer for the Constellation space suit team, which means that I use mechanical engineering and I'm working with a team of engineers and scientists and astronauts to design the next generation space suit that they'll wear on the surface of the Moon.
Jamie: So what made you get into this type of work?
Heather: Well I really always loved science and maths growing up and I determined that I really wanted to work at NASA. So I realise that involved science, engineering, technology and maths – or becoming an astronaut and involving all of those four things as well.
And so my dream is to become an astronaut for NASA but in the meantime I'm very happy being an engineer and designing the next generation hardware
Jamie: So what advice would you give to Scottish students trying to get into designing science technologies?
Heather: I'm sure, Jamie, that in school you've learned a lot about Scottish History, and you should know that Scotland has brought on many of the explorers and scientists who have helped us develop technology over the course of time. So I would encourage students in Scotland to stay in school and really focus on the areas of science, engineering, technology and maths and help us develop more technology that's going to help us sustain life on Earth as well as help us to do more to learn about space and the universe!
Interview with Bill
Joanne: Bill, tell us a bit about your background
Bill: Well, Joanne, I spent about 28 years in the American army; I have a degree in aerospace engineering, was a helicopter test pilot and about halfway through that I was selected by NASA to become an astronaut. My career as an astronaut cumulated in spending 6 months aboard the international space station
Joanne: tell us what it's like to spend 6 months in space
Bill: It's absolutely wonderful. It's really the difference between going some place on vacation and visiting versus going somewhere and actually living there and becoming a resident. I sort of felt that I was a resident of outer space!
Joanne: What do you think is the future for space travel?
Bill: Hopefully the Moon….and then Mars. NASA's working on a new programme called 'Constellation'. The first goal will be to develop a shuttle replacement, to first go to the International Space station, then hopefully by 2020 to the Moon and then to Mars.
Joanne: Bill McArthur…you've got quite a Scottish name. Is it like you've come home?
Bill: It absolutely is! My ancestors emigrated from the Oban area to the United States in the mid-18th century. We've always been very, very proud of our Scottish heritage. This is my third trip to Scotland to speak to Scottish students and it does feel like a homecoming. We think that the country is beautiful, the people are wonderful – warm and friendly – and we really like haggis!
