Professor Andrew Coates gained a BSc in Physics from UMIST in 1978, and MSc (1979) and D.Phil. (1982) in plasma physics from Oxford University. He has been at UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) since 1982, with temporary guest positions at Max Planck Institute for Solar System Physics (Germany), University of Delaware (USA) and the BBC World service (media fellowship). He is now Deputy Director (solar system) at UCL-MSSL. Space mission involvements include the Rosalind Franklin (ExoMars) rover where he leads the PanCam team, Cassini, where he led the electron spectrometer team (part of the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer), Venus Express, Mars Express and Giotto. Scientific interests include the solar wind interaction with planets and comets, planetary surfaces and space instrumentation; he has authored and co-authored over 570 publications, including over 450 refereed. He was a member of STFC Science Board (2019-22). He is a active in space and science outreach, and was President (2021-23) and vice President (2020-21 & 23-24) of the Society for Popular Astronomy.