And now for something pedagogically different. In Space Science Reviews, dated 12 March (they’re all-online, no issues at all):
Boonstra, S. K. Kretke, K. Garcia, D. et al. Technical STEM Workforce Development Re-Imagined: The Lucy Student Pipeline and Competency Enabler (L’SPACE) article number 28 s11214-024-01123-9
In it, program managers describe their educational/workforce effort- basically, large-scale internships. The space workforce has a continuing problem with graying. Large pulses of human resources get hired (including contractors), amass knowledge and experience, then retire/die at about the same age, leaving a vacuum behind them. It is a continual demand that we fill that vacuum- and that, despite other industries (IT, auto, aero etc.) competing with us for talented young people. Meanwhile, from the other end of the interview, young people have a hard time trying to break in, when there are few opportunities to gain knowledge and experience. In other words, you can’t get work if you can’t get work.
Solution (at least in part): concerted efforts by projects to allow interns. Many interns. Here is the effort of the Lucy mission. And it sounds like the project has really thought this one out.