The coronavirus outbreak has motivated more than a third (35%) of children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (Stem), new data suggest.
According to the figures, children in the UK are encouraged to become doctors or nurses (29%) and astronauts (25%).
Young people have been particularly involved in scientific discovery over the past 12 months.
A study of more than 2,000 parents of five- to 16-year-olds across the UK found that 50% of adolescents called NHS frontline workers, the scientists behind the Covid-19 vaccine release (31 %) and Mars rover landing (24%) as the most motivated events.
However, the research also showed that there are still barriers that prevent children from pursuing a career in Stem.
This includes not getting enough information about a career in Stem (38%), parents not knowing enough about Stem careers to advise children (33%) and not paying attention to sufficient in the media (31%).
Other barriers include a lack of career models (28%) and see it as too difficult to succeed in Stem careers (21%).
To give students a chance to express their interest, UK aerospace manufacturing company Thales Alenia Space is launching its eighth annual MARSBalloon project.
In June the project will launch more than 150 test capsules designed by UK schoolchildren into the Earth’s atmosphere through a high-altitude balloon, testing students’ ideas for technologies that could one day be expected for Mars.
The project is open to any school in the UK, and students can work together to create Mars experiments that will be inside a small egg-sized capsule, including anything from electronics, materials, plants and even food. .
Previous examples of experiments include testing the effect of conditions on rubber bands, ink, memory sticks and 3D printed materials.
Once launched, the balloon will go up to 30km, more than twice as high as commercial airlines, in about an hour.
It then explodes and the test tray returns to Earth through a parachute.
These tests are then collected and returned to students for analysis.
They will have conditions very similar to the surface of Mars, with temperatures as low as -50C.
Students will be able to test the response of the tests to future conditions outside the base of Mars.
The project is supported by Dr Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut, who said: “I am passionate about showing young people how science is relevant to our lives and I truly believe that it is the place of one of the most interesting areas.
“So far humans have launched around 50 missions to the red planet but we still have a long way to go to learn about the planet’s environment.
“It is entirely possible that Mars will be able to support a human colony, and to make the best use of space to improve our terrestrial life is essential for a generation of astronauts, scientists and engineers. in the future are encouraged to overcome the biological and technological challenges. to achieve that.
“The MARSBalloon project is helping to make space exploration more accessible, accessible and more important.”
Andrew Stanniland, chief executive of Thales Alenia Space in the UK, said: “The space industry, like many other industries across the UK, is acutely aware of the importance of attracting and retaining highly skilled people and the benefits of having a diverse workforce. innovation and success.
“We want to use students’ curiosity about the world around them from an early age by providing a fun MARSBalloon fun experience to inspire them on their way into a future career in Stem. ”