OUT OF THIS WORLD

When it comes to self-description, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock is admirably concise. She is, she says, a “space scientist and science communicator”. Yet to describe this as an understatement is an understatement all of its own... First up, she holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, as well as a degree in physics. She is the managing director of Science Innovation, a company set up to change the demography of UK scientists – in part by promoting science to children in inner city schools – and in 2013 became copresenter of enduring BBC classic The Sky at Night, following in the giant footsteps of Sir Patrick Moore. She has also worked for the Ministry of Defence, received an MBE (2009) and authored more than 20 books, of which the latest – Am I Made of Stardust? – is out now.

An impressive résumé. One birthed, no doubt, in a precocious scholarship and instinctive intellectual curiosity. Well no actually, it was... “The Clangers,” she laughs. “I loved the little furry creatures. They were so kind and they lived in space and they just captured my heart. “A few years ago, the programme [a stop motion animation series for children] was celebrating its 50th anniversary and they made a special episode entitled The Visitor which featured me as a little puppet. “So, in a way, my crazy childhood dream of getting into space came true.”

Born in Islington in 1968, Maggie is now a contented resident of Guildford, where she lives with her husband, Martin, and their 12-year-old daughter, Lauren. “We started out looking to buy a house in London, but quickly realised you didn’t get much for your money. So we rented in Woking and then moved here, as you get the best of town and country. We fell in love with the 1930s houses. Basically Guildford had everything we wanted.”

It’s the kind of stability that was manifestly absent from Maggie’s childhood, during which she attended 13 different schools as she was passed between her estranged parents. Aged eight, she was diagnosed with dyslexia and has openly admitted that she and school “did not get on”.

“Basically, until the diagnosis I was put in the remedial class and had a terrible time,” she explains. “I just felt disconnected. “As a dyslexic, I found that history and English and other essay subjects just went out of the window. I cannot spell for toffee, but I am very logical, which made science more attractive. I was also obsessed with space and I knew that science was the way in. “I hadn’t been doing very well, but once I began to focus on the sciences it really helped my other subjects too.”

Maggie opted to study maths, chemistry, physics and biology at A-level. Back in the 1980s, however, physics was not generally regarded as a subject for girls, and Maggie was sent to the boys’ school to study.

“I think it is better nowadays,” she reflects, “but more still needs to be done to encourage young people of both sexes to study those science subjects.” A task that Maggie, more than anyone, is doing her utmost to accomplish. “I have spoken to about 350,000 children in the UK and around the world to try and encourage them to consider science,” she reveals.

“I want to encourage the next generation of engineers and space scientists. So I go out to schools and events and tell them a bit about my story, and a few of the things that are happening in space, and encourage them to think about a STEM career.”

In Stardust, building on her work in schools, Maggie sets out to answer some of the burning questions that children ask about space. “Kids love space when they are young. They’re fired up by science in general, but we have to harness that. As little children we create experiments all the time – with water, sand, paint and especially with things like LEGO, where we build, engineer and think about colour and shapes.

“In schools, I tell children that I ask questions about science in my job, and that by doing the same they are already scientists themselves. Then I ask them to come and join us when they are older. There is an inner scientist in all of us. It just needs to be nurtured.”

One of the biggest misconceptions about a career in space science, insists Maggie, is that the only place you can work is NASA – a theory that she is working hard to debunk. “It is absolute rubbish,” she asserts. “In the UK the sector is booming. I used to work at Surrey Satellite Technology on the Research Park in Guildford and it has been fascinating to watch that grow and develop.

In her own career, it was landing the job on The Sky at Night that really thrust her to the forefront of public consciousness. It was, she freely admits, a daunting task to plug the yawning gap left by Sir Patrick Moore; a man who, after more than 55 years at the helm, had become synonymous with all things astronomical.

“I was gripped with a mixture of excitement and terror,” she laughs. “He was the longest-serving presenter ever of a single show, so they were very, very big shoes to fill.”

Now a regular presence on our screens, Maggie has since appeared on a whole host of shows – serious and light-hearted alike –including comedy panel game Duck Quacks Don’t Echo and the space themed Out of this World. She also finds time to touch down and indulge in various earthbound hobbies.

“I am learning French very, very slowly from an app and have been known to lose a few hours watching TikTok with my daughter, which is like falling down a black hole of a different kind.

“I also like walking. During lockdown, I found myself being questioned about the fact that I walked at night. But without the planes or light pollution the night skies were even more wonderful. I just told people: ‘I am an astronomer. This is when I want to be outside.’ It made perfect sense to me.”

What she really wants, however, is not just to stare up at space, but – her Clangers cameo aside – to get into it. “I think everyone should have a dream – one crazy dream that they never stop trying to realise,” she enthuses. “Mine has always been to get into space, and although I may never achieve it, I have done so many wonderful things because of it. “We all need to aim high. We all need to reach for the stars – and just grab all the stuff on the way to them.”

Am I Made of Stardust? (£12.99), by Maggie Aderin-Pocock, is published by Buster Books and in bookshops now

Gasden Copse - Witley

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GUIDE PRICE £2,650,000 - Similar Properties Required

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