Cleaver’s views on an exciting time for space exploration are echoed by David Morris, chief engineer for Teledyne e2v in Chelmsford.
His team makes cameras and other imaging equipment for space agencies across the world, with some ending up at the far reaches of the solar system.
He said: “If you look back to what happened in 1969 and the transformational aspects of seeing men on the Moon, I’d like to think that similar global excitement can happen when we see it happen again. It will invigorate the world to think more about being ‘the world’ rather than just lots of separate nations.”
He still feels the “wonder” when things made in Essex end up in deep space, including on Nasa’s New Horizons mission, which visited Pluto.
Morris, 65, added: “You get both a sense of pride and no little wonder that the things that we’ve actually built and touched from here will end up perhaps on the Moon, or perhaps exploring the far reaches of the galaxy.”