Rare Earth29 Nov 2024

The Final Frontier

Some of the wealthiest tech entrepreneurs share a vision of life beyond the horizon. They see a future for humankind that abandons our tired, dirty planet and creates new colonies of health and creativity on the Moon, on Mars or even further into deep space. Is this a wise precaution for all our futures or an insurance policy for the super-wealthy as they continue to trash our home planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski are joined by British astronaut, Tim Peake to consider the big moral questions of space colonisation and the practical problems of devising ways to make the best of the extraordinary possibilities of space without increasing the pressure on Earth’s resources. If we do colonise another planet how do we avoid making the same mistakes again? How do we grow food and find or produce freshwater? How can we travel to, from and around these planets without burning more fossil fuels? Could the answers help us all live a better life right here, right now? Joining Helen, Tom and Tim in studio are Eloise Marais, who leads the Atmospheric Composition and Air Quality research group at University College London and co-chair of the Environmental Task Force at Space Scotland, Andrew Fournet, and Tom pays a visit to a company in Bletchley who are developing nuclear fusion propulsion.

Producer: Alasdair Cross Assistant Producer: Toby Field

Produced in association with the Open University

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Episoder(71)

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11 Sep 53min

All In This Together

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4 Sep 52min

Andy's Green In-Tray

How will the environment be changed by an Andy Burnham government? As the new parliamentary session opens, Tom Heap and Helen Czerski leaf through the government in-tray to reveal the big decisions t...

28 Aug 52min

Volcano

Helen Czerski and Tom Heap investigate the environmental impact of volcanoes from prehistory to the present day, and find out about their cultural significance in art and literature. On today's panel:...

21 Aug 53min

Drawing Our Future Homes

Who's the hero that will protect us from the impact of extreme heat, rain and whatever else climate change might throw at us in future? Forget someone in a cape, maybe it's the person quietly sketchin...

14 Aug 52min

The Sound of Water

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27 Jun 52min

Into the Wild

Is there any true wilderness left on our planet? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski consider the fear and fascination of the wild. They're joined by the writer Cal Flyn who has spent the last few years trav...

19 Jun 53min