The first UoM students in space?
Departments UOM life 5th September 2017
Tim Gregory and Tessa Naran share more in common than just their UoM background. They also both want to be astronauts and are currently appearing on our screens every Sunday at 9pm. The reason? They’re participants in the new BBC 2 show Astronauts: Do you have what it takes?.
Beating off tough competition from 3,000 other applicants, the duo were handpicked by none other than Chris Hadfield, former commander of the International Space Station. Now they’re going head to head with ten other competitors for the chance of getting Chris’s backing to become one of the European Space Agency’s next influx of new recruits.
The toughest training in the Solar System?
Make no mistake – the people taking part in this show aren’t being given an easy ride just because they’re on TV. The tasks they’re asked to complete are similar to real astronaut training and their performance is judged by Hadfield alongside Dr Kevin Fong – who himself applied for astronaut selection in 2008 – and Dr Iya Whiteley, who designs training courses for new European Astronauts.
Both Tim and Tessa have so far aced many of the tasks, including escaping from an underwater container, docking a space station, taking samples of their own blood and hovering a helicopter. Tim puts his winning time on the helicopter task down to the fact he’s had to develop an extremely steady hand using a pipette in the lab at Bristol University, where he’s currently completing his PhD. Meanwhile, it should come as little surprise Tessa did so well on this task, as since graduating from UoM she’s become a commercial airline pilot.
With both Tim and Tessa still in the running three episodes in, we’re hoping for a UoM graduate to win the top prize and get Hadfield’s backing for a place on the next voyage into space. For both, this would be a dream come true.
Lifetime ambition
“Since I was about six years old I wanted to be an astronaut. My dad brought home some space food from Helen Sharman, the first British Astronaut. From that moment I wanted to know everything about astronauts, what they did in space, how to become one and so on. My dream led me to study Physics with Astrophysics,” says Tessa.
Tim believes it’s only natural to have a fascination with space. “Humans have always been explorers and what we’ve discovered has shaped human history. Space lets us continue this and be the best we can be,” he says. Although he also points out: “I’m still realistic. I’m not pinning my definition of success to this one goal – it’s just an exercise.”
And Tim’s a person who certainly knows the value of remaining open minded about the future. He originally joined UoM to study Physics, but a few weeks in realised it wasn’t the right course for him. Making the change to a Geology with Planetary Science degree set him on a path that would end with him taking an internship at NASA and, later, training to be an astronaut. Pretty great for a guy who was called “NASA boy” at school and bullied for his love of science.
“If I had a piece of advice for anyone in the same position I was at school – someone who loves science but is picked on because of it – I would tell them ‘stay curious’,” Tim says. And he admits that it was a difficult time for him, which he got through – in part – because of his deep love of science, along with his mum’s support.
“Don’t forget why you got interested in science in the first place. Lots of people share your interest. If you’re finding school hard, it will come to an end – however difficult that might seem to believe at the time. What I went through shaped the direction I took in life,” Tim explains. “Becoming an astronaut used to be just an idle thought but now I’ve had this insight into doing it for real. Now I think ‘why not?’ I can at least try.”
The future is extra-terrestrial
So, do Tim and Tessa think their time at UoM helped them on the show? Definitely! “I took pride in telling Chris Hadfield that I did my undergraduate degree at The University of Manchester. He knew of the university and the city. My time in Manchester set up the path I’m on now and led to this selection process,” says Tim. Tessa adds: “UoM is a highly reputable university and the fact I have a Master’s degree from there has helped me throughout my life and career.”
Looking to the future, both Tim and Tessa are far from abandoning their dreams of space exploration. For Tim, there’s a pressing need to explore the possibilities beyond Earth’s atmosphere, as our time on our home planet is finite. “I believe that to avoid extinction we will have to become an interplanetary species someday. That could be a settlement on Mars or a Moon base – and if we’re going to have to do it, why not start today?,” he explains.
Tessa, meanwhile, has her eye on the more immediate future and hopes to pilot a commercial spaceflight at some point. She wants her achievements to inspire others to go for their dreams. “Anything is possible and the sky is not the limit. Just work hard and believe in yourself,” she says.
With three episodes left to go, we’re wishing Tessa and Tim lots of luck – and we have our fingers crossed that a UoM graduate will be crowned the winner. But whatever happens, we know these two have bright futures ahead of them.
Catch Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? On BBC 2 at 9pm on Sundays. If you’ve missed an episode, you can catch up here.
Words – Hayley Cox
Images – (C) BBC – Photographers: James Cheadle, Jenny Joyce
