Into Outer Space with Laurence O’Rourke, European Space Agency

We were very fortunate to have a visit of Mr O’Rourke from the European Space Agency to the Senior School on Wednesday 29 April. Mr O’Rourke made presentations to Year 7, 8 and 9 and also to our Senior Science Society after school. Mr O’Rourke gave a fascinating explanation of comets and an account of the journey of the Rosetta orbiter from launch in 2004 until it reached the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet in 2014. The images sent from the Philae lander and the Rosetta orbiter itself were simply incredible, showing the rocky landscape of the comet in great detail. Mr O’Rourke matched his presentations skilfully to the audience, also answering questions about the benefits of space exploration and the future prospects for the Rosetta Mission itself.

On 30 April, St Christopher’s Infant and Junior Schools were delighted to then welcome Mr Lawrence O’Rourke to speak to the pupils and parents about his work on the ‘Rosetta’ mission to land a probe on a comet.

Mr O’Rourke was a busy man throughout his day in Saar. During two assemblies, he explained his role on the ‘Rosetta’ mission and other aspects of his job, which is based in Madrid, Spain. He explained about the satellite Rosetta and the probe Philae, taking us through their long journey. The pupils inundated him with questions, showing how he had really captured their imaginations.

Mr O’Rourke also completed workshops with smaller groups explaining in detail how rockets used for ESA missions functioned.

Not satisfied with being kept busy by the pupils, Mr O’Rourke also spoke to the parents after the school day and again enthused his audience with his knowledge and passion for space exploration.

We would like to say a big thank you to Mr O’Rourke and we look forward to hopefully seeing you again when Philae has ‘woken up’ and you can tell us more about what has been discovered.