Irish Aeronautical Engineer Norah Patten might be just like you; she went to a typical, all-girls’ school in Mayo, but her love for all things space has her set to be the first ever Irish astronaut to go to space.
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in STEM?
I think we need to start thinking about how we can encourage all young people to develop an interest in STEM, not just girls or boys. Understandably, there is an underrepresentation of girls in some of the STEM subjects, for example, in particular engineering fields, but let’s start working towards developing the fields so that they are more inclusive from a very young age. This starts at home, in our schools and in our society.
As an engineer, I’ve worked in male-dominated environments, for sure, but we all have to work together to achieve success – men, women, boys, girls, young and old.
What are you most looking forward to in the next 10 years?
Honestly, I want to get to space within that time frame. I’m most looking forward to the planning, preparation and everything that brings over the next 10 years.
What job would you be terrible at?
I need to be challenged and always learning, so a job that doesn’t give me that I’d find boring.
Why do you think kids see being an astronaut as such a far-fetched, magical and perhaps unattainable career?
I think that’s because there have been less than 600 people ever to go to space and becoming an astronaut has been a reality for such a select few. But my hope is that, with this wave of commercial space, that will change and there will be more opportunities to actually fly to space.
As an engineer, I’ve worked in male-dominated environments, for sure, but we all have to work together to achieve success – men, women, boys, girls, young and old.
Some girls might worry they don’t have the same choices as others because of where they go to school. Was your school set up any differently from the ‘average’ school?
No, my school was very much a typical all-girls’ school in Mayo! I didn’t have access to study some of the subjects a lot of the boys in my university class had studied, but it just meant I had to work even harder, especially in first year of undergraduate.
Some girls might worry that they aren’t always A-graders. To have a career like yours, do you have to always be top of the class?
You have to put the work in, simple as that. It takes time, effort and persistence but when you want something enough, it is worth it.
If you couldn’t be an astronaut, what alternative career do you think you’d be doing?
I’m happiest when I’m working on space-related stuff, so each year, I’ve integrated that into my life in some way, whether it be through outreach initiatives in Ireland or international conferences or hands-on training like Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere). I think we all need to learn what makes us happy and do more of it.
What are some of the most epic parts of your training?
It’s Impossible to pick just one thing because there have been so many epic parts!! Last October (2018), we flew as researchers on a parabolic flight; that’s where you float weightless. That was amazing! I loved many elements of PoSSUM, like the high-G acrobatic flights and spacesuit testing.
How did your family/friends react when you told them you are actually going to be an astronaut?
They’re well used to me at this stage, they’ve been listening to this for the past 25 years! They are all totally behind it and I think genuinely very happy to see that I’ve been able to progress an impossible dream.