A rocket has launched to space carrying a magnet etched with a Māori design - making it a world-first.
The rocket’s payload is a superconducting magnet, used to accelerate plasma and generate thrust. Because it operates without electrical resistance, it can maintain strong magnetic fields with little power loss, making it ideal for space’s limited energy supply.
Launched in Florida a couple of days ago, it will make its way to the International Space Station (ISS), where scientists will study it.
Professor Nick Long, director of the Robinson Research Institute, says there was a need to cover and protect the experiment, and so the idea was put forward that they could have a Māori design on it.
Reweti Arapere (Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Porou, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is the artist behind the design etched onto the payload’s cover.
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It was his father who inspired him to get involved.
“Kātahi anō e rua tau ki muri ia mate ai ko Papa Graeme Everton nō roto mai i a mātou o Ngāti Pikiahu Waewae ki Tokorangi. Nāna i whakarewahia ētahi kaupapa he pūtaiao e tiaki nei i te rere o te hiko ki ō mātou marae i te Rūpāwhara o Te Reureu.”
Nō reira nāna i whakarewa i te kaupapa whiti, nāwai ka kōrero mai, he tama me whakarite tātou i ētahi kaupapa kia haere ki runga o Mars ki ētahi atu ao.”
Arapere says the bird profile form represents the four winds aligned to the philosophy and research methodology of matauranga Māori, that knowledge comes from the heavens.
The concept of the design represents how Kōkako was gifted the blue waddle. Tāne-Māhuta, the atua (god) of the forest and the birds, climbed the twelve heavens to seek the baskets of knowledge.
When Tāne was thirsty, Kōkako flew to his aid with water. Tāne then gifted Kōkako with the beautiful blue coloured waddles and a beautiful singing voice.
Rangiātea is known as the name of the house where the baskets of knowledge came from, which roughly translates as Astro Space or the galaxy.
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Robinson says the focus has always been on how applications of high-temperature superconductivity (HTS) can be leveraged to address real-world issues.
“Electric propulsion can offer significant technical, financial, and sustainability advantages to the space industry. The successful launch of the Hēki payload marks a significant moment for Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Tane Butler (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whitikaupeka, Tokorangi), a kaimahi at the institute, says the space sector keeps growing.
“I heard a number floated that it’s worth more than winery in New Zealand now. Aerospace is going to need people for the future, and Māori have a vested stake in that, and you see that with Tāwhaki.”
This project is a collaboration between Paihau—Robinson Research Institute and participants from Voyager Technologies (providing mission management services), IDS Consulting, Asteria Engineering Consultancy, University of Canterbury, University of Auckland, and the Czech Technical University in Prague.
