Science fiction, from the USS Enterprise in “Star Trek” to the space station in “2001: A Space Odyssey”, has often inspired the scientists and engineers who design and build real spacecraft.
The fine line between science fiction literature and real-life space activities provides the backdrop to the European Space Agency’s video lesson for schools, “Science Fiction – Science Fact”.
“There’s no real objection to escapism, in the right places… We all want to escape occasionally. But science fiction is often very far from escapism, in fact you might say that science fiction is escape into reality… It’s a fiction which does concern itself with real issues: the origin of man; our future. In fact I can’t think of any form of literature which is more concerned with real issues, reality.”
- Arthur C. Clarke
The video compares factual and fictional space stations and spacecraft, and explains how science fiction interplanetary travels could inspire our future generations of scientists and engineers.
It is aimed at upper secondary school students and their teachers, and offers a starting point for further individual or classroom investigation. The video is accompanied by lesson notes, including detailed scientific explanations of key concepts illustrated in the video.
Learn more
Check out “Science Fiction – Science Fact”
