The UK Space Agency’s Space for Everyone tour, which reached more than 160,000 young people on its five-month journey around the UK (between June and October this year), featured a 72ft long replica rocket and visited 13 cities in all four UK nations, on its ‘mission to inspire the next generation of space professionals’. The tour showcased the pivotal role of space in enhancing life on Earth and highlighted the diverse career pathways available in the sector to young people from all backgrounds and skill sets.

Space for Everyone was hailed a remarkable success, attracting a total of 105,705 visitors, with an additional 47,600 people exploring the online tour site, and almost 9,000 people tuning into the online broadcast. Visitors had the opportunity to experience interactive exhibits, hear from experts, and learn about the career opportunities available in the UK space sector. In total, the tour covered 2,684 miles.

Matt Archer, the UK Space Agency’s director of launch, said: “We are working hard to encourage diversity and inspire young people from all backgrounds and skill sets to ensure the UK space sector remains vibrant, innovative, and above all successful in achieving our goal for the UK to be the leading provider of launch in Europe by 2030. Our Space for Everyone tour has been phenomenally successful, engaging young people about the exciting opportunities in the UK’s fast-growing space sector and highlighting the wide variety of opportunities available.”

Simon Foster, an outreach officer and teacher at Imperial College London’s Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “We have been delighted to collaborate with the UK Space Agency on their Space for Everyone tour website. The space sector is a huge part of the UK economy and giving young people an understanding of the diverse range of careers on offer and how to access them is vital to ensure that we have a healthy talent pipeline.”