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A New Frontier: 3. Life on Mars

With actors from the private sector now playing an important role in space exploration, Matthew Syed examines the consequences and opportunities of the commercialisation of space.

Matthew Syed continues his four-part mini-series from Sideways examining the ethics of space exploration in a rapidly expanding era of travel and transformation.

In this episode, he explores the role and ambitions of the new actors in space exploration. More people than ever before can now aspire to travel into space with private companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic. This democratisation of space allows those who can afford it to become astronauts and view our world from a different perspective.

But new actors and new purposes bring new challenges. Spacefaring billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos openly share their ambitions to settle on celestial bodies like the Moon or Mars. With a limited body of space laws, questions about land ownership and governance in space - and on Earth - arise.

With sculptor and new astronaut Ed Dwight, anthropologist Deana Weibel, NASA consultant Linda Billings and space Lawyer Michelle Hanlon.

Presenter: Matthew Syed
Producers: Vishva Samani and Julien Manuguerra-Patten
Series Editor: Katherine Godfrey
Sound Design and Mix: Rob Speight
Theme music by Ioana Selaru
A Novel production for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4

Available now

29 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Wed 24 Jul 2024 09:00
  • Fri 26 Jul 2024 16:30

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

Sideways - Articles

Sideways - Articles

Features on some of the fascinating topics from Sideways with Matthew Syed.

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