A Darlington-born former student of The Northern School of Art is part of the team behind a history-making lunar mission that will see Australian technology deployed on the Moon’s surface for the very first time.

Program Manager Laura O’Neil, who studied on the Extended Diploma 3D Design (Interiors, Architecture & Productions) course at the School when it was known as Cleveland College of Art & Design (CCAD) from 2001 to 2003, is now based in Adelaide, South Australia, working as Exploration Programs Manager at Fleet Space Technologies, a rapidly-growing space company pioneering cutting-edge satellite and exploration technologies.

Laura is leading the project management of SPIDER (Seismic Payload for Interplanetary Discovery, Exploration and Research), a small seismic device that will be deployed onto the surface of the Moon as part of Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 2 in 2026.

Once embedded in the lunar soil, SPIDER will measure seismic activity and help scientists understand micrometeorite impacts and the Moon’s subsurface, providing key information for future exploration efforts, including NASA’s Artemis program.

“This is the first piece of Australian technology to be deployed on the Moon, which is an incredible achievement by the team at Fleet Space,” said Laura. “It’s a privilege to lead this project through to completion and help deliver on such an ambitious and scientifically significant mission.”

Laura’s progression from The Northern School’ of Art’s Middlesbrough campus to the frontlines of Australia’s space industry may seem unconventional but she credits her time at what was then CCAD with laying the foundations for her multidisciplinary career.

“Studying at CCAD was the best decision I could have made for my future,” she said. “It gave me a solid grounding in design thinking and the opportunity to develop ideas both traditionally and digitally. The college nurtured a way of looking at problems creatively, a skill that’s as valuable in the space sector as it is in product or furniture design.”

After leaving, Laura studied 3D design at York St John University and has since held a variety of technical and engineering roles across the UK and Australia. Her diverse CV includes time spent in civil engineering, offshore subsea projects in renewables and oil and gas, and extensive work in management consultancy, experience that eventually led her to Fleet Space in 2022.

“I originally came to Australia looking to work in oil and gas, but I took a detour into project management,” she explained. “That role ended up being key in setting me up to add real value to major infrastructure and energy projects here in South Australia and eventually brought me to Fleet.”

Laura works within Fleet Space’s CXO team, the primary research and development arm of the company, and supports design and project execution across multiple next-gen technologies. Her current work with the SPIDER program blends technical, engineering, and management expertise, with her work set to travel more than 384,000km from Earth.

She remains grateful to The Northern School of Art for inspiring her early on, particularly her former tutor, Martyn Featherstone, who she says continues to influence her approach to design and problem-solving.

“Martyn is someone who consistently prodded and pushed for how things could be better,” she said. “That way of thinking helped me from the very start, and it’s something I carry with me in every project I take on, even when they’re heading to the Moon!”

Laura also shares a creative link with legendary filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott, another Northern School of Art alumnus, whose work on the film Alien remains a cultural touchstone for the team at Fleet.

“Some of the original meeting rooms at Fleet were named after ships from Alien as the film is a favourite here,” she said. “It’s amazing to think two people from the same art school in the North East ended up working in fields so connected to space and imagination.”

Her advice to current students at the School is to embrace opportunities, even the unexpected ones.

“Say yes to new things. The skillset you build at art school is so rich and versatile. You never know where it could take you, even all the way to space.”

To find out more about Fleet Space Technologies, which was named as Australia’s Fastest Growing Company by the Australian Financial Review in 2023 visit www.fleetspace.com

Laura O’Neil is on LinkedIn HERE

The Northern School of Art’s Middlesbrough campus Extended Diploma in 3D Design (Interiors, Architecture & Productions) course is designed to enable students to develop the skills and attributes needed to succeed in a wide range of 3D specialisms. Further details and how to apply are available HERE