Billy Menken and EOPS
By: nOEL gOMEZ
This year, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the first mission to the moon and the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. It seems though, that it won’t be much longer before mankind makes even more regular trips to the moon and even beyond that. An article from Express, a news publication in the UK, presents the possibility of a “Space Race 2.0” and discusses the possibility of commercial space travel becoming sustainable and frequent by the 2030s. With companies around the world—including SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Firefly—putting more time and resources into space travel, interest in the field is beginning to peak. Daniel Inocente, senior architectural designer with New York-based architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), has said that “Entrepreneurs and new private companies are making space more accessible both economically and technologically. But any new frontier comes with unpredictable risks that might affect natural environments.” In the article he talks about the benefits of creating bases on the moon—including more resources and ability to learn how humans could live beyond Earth. Companies all over the world are curious to answer this question themselves and are developing new technologies and innovations guiding us into an era of off-planet exploration. “Many people believe that settlements on the Moon are impossible.” Inocente said. “Yet, we have seen examples of extraordinary accomplishments by visionary people in the most inhospitable parts of the world, and even in low earth orbit. It is up to the new generation to make the next step possible…” And this is where students like Billy and Avery come in.
Billy Menken and Avery Clowes are two seniors on Exeter’s campus who believe a new age of space travel is closer than many would think. Together their lower year, they founded the Exeter Off-Planet Society (EOPS). In their mission statement, they state that: “We believe humanity is on the cusp of one of the greatest leaps in history: engaging the off-Earth realm–and we intend to be part of it.” Their club aims to introduce, educate, and inspire their generation to engage with and take advantage of this leap. On campus, they have weekly meetings where they discuss different space topics, put together publications for the club, reach out to and talk to scientists and leaders in the field, and carry out various experiments. In the past they’ve gone to the top of Love Gym to collect and examine space rocks, invited NASA engineer Tim Kuo to speak at a club meeting, built a cloud chamber to observe alpha and beta particles and muons, and are now designing their own model rockets. The club has also written “The High Schooler’s Guide to the Galaxy” which acts as a compilation of resources to help high schoolers get involved with topics in space before college.
In an interview with Billy, he shared his main inspiration for starting EOPS. At its core, the club was born out of his love for space. Billy believes that space is the “next frontier for scientific inquiry and exploration,” but also the “next frontier for business.” The abundance of materials in outer space excites him—there is seemingly unlimited energy and physical space to do things that still remains untapped by humans today. In a video on the EOPS youtube channel, Billy shares more about his personal philosophy regarding space exploration. He says that this moment of history is one of great progress, with rockets being launched every week by billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. He describes humanity’s history of progress— from learning to fly, to stepping on the moon— and how witnessing history excites him, but that he is thrilled by the chance to make history. Billy, like many of us, is still trying to answer big questions about life like the why we are here and what we should do. For him, the progress that he’s seen and that he continues to see gives him hope and a purpose. That purpose for him, is to participate in progress in the hope of one day having a greater understanding of life and all of its unknowns.
With EOPS, Billy also wants to make something more impactful than a normal club. EOPS is a new type of club that does not just provide an affinity group for people with similar interests, but seeks to collaborate with other similarly minded students not just on campus, but across the world, so that both groups of students can benefit from each other’s resources. So far, EOPS has succeeded in having an influence in about 10 different countries and most of the states for more than 1,000 people, but Billy hopes that the club will continue to grow. He expressed that the biggest difficulties in growing the club in campus were narrowing down exactly what its aspirations were and then getting its members to stay consistently committed to a bigger, more long-term goal rather than shorter-term operations. Once Billy graduates, he says that he won’t be taking EOPS with him into college, but that he hopes its newer members this year will continue to be active in it and push forward his dream for the club—reaching out and inspiring people around the globe and standing at the forefront of the new space era.