A MAN from Nailsea who worked on Beagle 2 will be holding a series of talks about how you can become spacecraft engineers and scientists.

On Friday, June 2, residents are invited to learn more about the work of Terry Ransome as part of the Journey To Mars exhibition at Aerospace Bristol. This also happens to be the anniversary of the launch of Beagle 2.

Now retired and living in Nailsea, Terry worked in the space industry since graduating in 1969. Speaking about his experiences, Terry said: "I was inspired to work ‘in space’ by the Apollo Moon-landings in the late 1960s, graduating from University of Loughborough as an electronics engineer in 1969 in the same month that the first astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

"My very best experience has to be working on the British Mars Lander, Beagle 2, from 1997 to 2003. It was 1997 that Professor Colin Pillinger from the Open University came to Filton with an idea of building a lander that would be taken to the red planet, Mars, by a new spacecraft that the European Space Agency was planning. That would be called Mars Express.

North Somerset Times: Beagle2 lander on the surfaceBeagle2 lander on the surface (Image: Terry Ransome)

"By then, BAE had been taken over by Matra Marconi Space, but work on Beagle 2 (named after HMS Beagle that took Charles Darwin around the work looking at many never-before-seen species of animals, birds and plants). Beagle 2 was going to look for signs of life on Mars!

"Launch was on June 2 2003 – which was the 50th anniversary of the Coronation of our late Queen Elizabeth.  I was privileged, and thrilled, not only to remain at the launch site and watch the Soyuz rocket take off, but to be the last person to see and touch Beagle 2 at the top of the launch tower."

North Somerset Times: The launch.The launch. (Image: Terry Ransome)

Reflecting on his work, Terry concludes: "We know that Beagle 2 did successfully land and that is a huge achievement.

"Whenever Mars appears in the sky, I tell the grandchildren I put something up there. This is the message; you can do it.

"It's not all done by NASA and the Russians - these spacecrafts are built by North Somerset people."

Terry will be giving two talks on June 2, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

For more information, please visit the Aerospace Bristol website.