EADS Astrium engineering chief Bob Graham

According to a recent study of children’s learning habits, space and dinosaurs remain the two scientific subjects that are most certain to fire the imaginations of youngsters.

Bob Graham - head of engineering at Europe’s largest space company, EADS Astrium - couldn’t agree more. But this, he said, is where the similarity ends. ’I’m not suggesting that space is in any way a dinosaur,’ he added. ’It might have stopped grabbing the headlines in the way that it used to, but it’s really motivating to know that it still provides such a stimulus.’ With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Graham admits that the sector may not appear to be as exciting as it was in the golden years of manned-space exploration. ’It’s a shame,’ he said, ’because in reality, a lot of fascinating things are happening behind the scenes.’

While high-profile human space expeditions have tended to dominate public interest in space, the industry’s impact on our lives is more profound than ever, said Graham. Satellite technology is the classic example. From policing greenhouse emissions to monitoring activity in war zones, the introduction of data streams from space has opened up huge global opportunities.