World Space Week returns this year, from 4-10 October. This year’s theme is ‘Rocket Revolution,’ exploring the speed at which our means of exploring space is changing.

That means more rocket launches, more countries and – before long – more astronauts.

So far, Britain has produced three career astronauts: Helen Sharman, Tim Peake and Dr Rosemary Coogan, who beat more than 22,500 applicants to win her place with the European Space Agency and is now waiting on her first mission to the International Space Station.

Britain’s children, however, are pretty confident they’ll be joining Dr Coogan up there. Research by tech education group RM Technology, published in May 2024, found that 57% of children aged four to seven believe they will travel to space in their lifetime.

Maybe you’re reading this with scepticism. After all, for the vast majority of adults, space might be a daydream rather than a career. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to shoot down your child’s dreams of being an astronaut.

The qualities ESA screened Coogan for – spatial awareness, memory, teamwork and physical control – are the same qualities that children build at breaktime, without a single adult telling them what to do. So why not let them dream?

Spinning on roundabouts: Coping with disorientation

Every playground has at least one child who wants the roundabout spun faster, then staggers off giggling and immediately gets back........

© Herald Scotland