06/10/2026
🌊 From the depths of the ocean to the edge of space… 🚀
For World Space Week, we’re following an unexpected Linlithgow connection all the way from the deep sea to the stars.
Linlithgow-born Sir Charles Wyville Thomson was the scientific leader of the pioneering HMS Challenger expedition of 1872–76, which transformed our understanding of the world's oceans.
The expedition gave its name to Challenger Deep, in the Mariana Trench — the deepest known point in the Earth's oceans.
But the Challenger name travelled even further.
Almost a century later, NASA named the Space Shuttle Challenger after the pioneering research vessel.
From exploring the unknown depths of our own planet to exploring beyond it, the spirit of discovery continues.
Not bad for a story with a Linlithgow connection! 🌍✨
