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Science presenter Rani Price meets Abbie Hutty, a young structural engineer, who describes her job and some of the space projects she has worked on. Abbie talks about her role in the construction of a satellite called BepiColombo, and her latest project working on the Mars rover.

As a structural engineer, she evaluates the technological components of the rover. She also describes the programing that allows the rover to solve complex problems and make its own decisions. Abbie then describes how her science education led her to a career in engineering.

Students could come up with a brief for their own rover vehicle. This could be for use on Mars, another planet or on Earth. Working in groups, they should consider the terrain their vehicle will encounter, how it will be powered, how it will be controlled and how best to avoid maintenance issues. For a longer project, they could go on to produce prototypes of their vehicles.