Profile
Andrew Ball
As you may know, we had to shift the launch from this year to 2022 for a number of reasons, and now the team are working full speed to complete the work needed to make that happen. On the payload we have a few things still to do, including a swap of some electronics of one instrument and making sure the software runs as it should on the Rover computer. The science teams are busy mapping the landing site with images from orbit, and looking forward to operations training. Meanwhile I'm spending some of my time looking at some ideas for possible future Mars exploration missions!
Curriculum Vitae
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Education:
Ravensdale Primary School then John Port School, Derby
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Qualifications:
GCSEs, then A-Levels, then first degree in Natural Sciences, a Masters in Spacecraft Technology and Satellite Communications, then a Ph.D. in Physics (Space Science)
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Work History:
1998: Junior Visiting Scientist, International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzlerland. 1999-2000: Institute for Planetology, U. Münster, Germany, 2001-2008: Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, The Open University, Milton Keynes, U.K.
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Current Job:
Instrument Systems and Operations Engineer
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Favourite thing to do in my job: Watch something I've worked on being fired off into space and arrive at Mars
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About Me
I'm a scientist-turned-engineer working on Mars exploration for the European Space Agency in the Netherlands
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Read more
I live in Leiden with my girlfriend, our cat and two pianos. I’m a fan of Doctor Who and Pink Floyd (among other things) and like travelling to Iceland. I can speak French and German and bits of a few other languages.
Before moving to the Netherlands, I grew up in Derby then studied or worked in Cambridge, London, Canterbury, Switzerland, Germany and Milton Keynes (see map below).
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My Work on the ExoMars Mission
I make sure the science instruments fit onto the Rover and will work properly when we get to Mars.
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My Interview
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What's the best thing you've done in your career?
Participated in the landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan, in 2005.
What or who inspired you to follow your career?
Going on a 1-week Space summer school when I was 17
What was your favourite subject at school?
Maths and then chemistry
What did you want to be after you left school?
A research chemist
Were you ever in trouble at school?
Not very often
If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?
Some sort of historian, archaeologist or achivist I think
Who is your favourite singer or band?
Pink Floyd
What's your favourite food?
Hot puddings
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