"I'd love to go to the moon"
Space tourism will take off in our lifetime, says Professor Brian Cox — but why wouldn’t he pack his bags and blast off to Mars with Elon Musk?
Richard Grassie
- Robin Parker
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Your latest series Solar System features new discoveries and stunning images of other planets. Is this a golden age for space research?
Yes – the development of reusable rockets has, for the first time, opened up space and made it cost-effective to operate near to the Earth’s orbit. The launch cost has plummeted and that means more missions and much cheaper ways of getting spacecraft out there.
Did you watch SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn (partly funded by Elon Musk’s company) recently make history with the world’s first commercial space walk? What did you think?
I was mesmerised by it. It was a hell of an achievement – the furthest humans have been from Earth since Apollo 17 in 1972 and on what was basically a commercial flight. It’s high risk, as every bit of the technology has to work: if the seal doesn’t form when you close the hatch, you’re re-entering Earth’s atmosphere with only your space suits.
Will space travel ever become a possibility for normal people or will it remain out of reach?
It’s still experimental and expensive. The aim for Virgin Galactic and [Jeff Bezos’s] Blue Origin in particular is to make it more accessible. I wouldn’t be surprised if within 20 years, someone who’s decided to save up and really wants to do it can go, for the cost of a really expensive holiday, like going to Antarctica. It won’t be long before someone broadcasts a whole documentary from space.
SpaceX's recent Polaris Dawn privately crewed mission blasts off from Florida.
Why should we spend billions on space research when there are so many issues to address on Earth?
The facetious answer is that you don’t put a big crate of money on the spacecraft and launch it; the money’s spent on building it on Earth. But the real answer is that investing very small amounts of money in the exploration of our cosmic neighbourhood is not something that should concern us, because it’s cost-positive. Nature is very complicated and intricate, and discoveries can come from the strangest of places. We explore it, driven by curiosity.
Do you have an example?
When radio telescopes were first used in the 20th century, we discovered that Venus is hot because of the greenhouse effect. In this series we explore why a planet that’s the same composition and size, and about the same distance from the Sun, as Earth, is the most hostile surface in the solar system. In trying to understand questions about Earth’s climate, and why it supports life, having those different laboratories out there is essential. The solar system is basically a chemistry set – it’s like nature has done an experiment for us so we can see the parallel evolution of two similar planets and how they’ve diverged.
In the new series we see you perform small-scale experiments on location to get across some complex ideas — mistakes and all...
The messing around is always there – it just doesn’t usually end up on screen! Filming each episode in a single location, you can afford to try something that might not work. We know teachers take little clips from our series to use in school. Rotating two eggs – one hard-boiled, one soft – as I do in episode one, also teaches kids about how to interpret data. Through experiments, you learn to be wrong. No matter how passionate your opinion, it’s completely worthless in the face of reality.
It won’t be long before someone broadcasts a whole documentary from space
What are your thoughts on science education?
From schools to research labs, scientific discovery’s about encouraging curiosity. If you ask teachers, they’d say it’d be lovely if their pupils had more time to play. It’s nice to have unstructured, curiosity-driven time. I’ve never been able to do stuff to order in a very rigid framework. Give me a little time and I’ll find something out!
How crucial is it that themes like the complexity of the solar system are addressed on mainstream TV?
In our fragmented society, it’s important to find ways of disseminating knowledge – and more importantly, to understand what knowledge we can trust.
How close are we to finding life on other planets — and what could that mean for us?
All we can do is look at the history of life on Earth – the geological conditions that enabled it – and then go to places that share those properties. “Follow the water” is the usual line. Scientifically, it would be an enormous discovery, because we don’t know how common the origin of life is, given the right conditions. It might be extremely rare. Whether it would have ramifications for us, I don’t know.
So, how long until we can colonise Mars?
Ten years ago, I’d have said, “Probably not in my lifetime.” But the progress in getting humans into space has been more rapid than any of us would have pictured! I wouldn’t put it past (Elon Musk’s) SpaceX, with Blue Origin close behind, getting stuff into Martian orbit. SpaceX is planning to launch a starship, with supplies on it, to Mars in 2026. It’s easy to say it’s not going to happen, but SpaceX is a remarkable company. Adding humans would bring enormous challenges – practical, medical, psychological – but someone will have a go because that kind of person has always existed. It’s no different to sailing across the ocean: how did people get to Easter Island? The mind boggles.
If you were invited to visit Mars, would you be interested?
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No, I wouldn’t go, it’d be horrible! I can’t picture going on a two-year journey in a capsule – but I can picture going on a week-long journey in space. I was always obsessed with Apollo, so I’d love to go to the Moon. I’d love to see Earth rise.
Authors
Robin Parker
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