51³Ô¹ÏÍø

In this edition: We commemorate 50 years since the Moon landing by looking ahead to the future of space travel, medicine and exploration.

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– We celebrate the Apollo 11 mission with some little-known facts about the moon landing, and look at the next mission heading to our nearest neighbour.

– We chat to Helen Sharman, Britain’s first astronaut (and outreach ambassador at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø) about the future of spaceflight – will it be human or robotic? Will private companies take the lead? And should we go back to the Moon or focus on Mars?

– Astronauts face unique challenges staying healthy in space, and these will only increase on a mission to Mars. We talk to an intensive care medic and a researcher, who has worked with both NASA and the European Space Agency, to find out more about the challenges of space medicine.

– Working in space is difficult, from spacewalks to guiding robotics. We meet a researcher coming up with new ways to make these tasks easier, using sensors incorporated into new helmets and gloves.

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The podcast is presented by Gareth Mitchell, a lecturer on 51³Ô¹ÏÍø's MSc Science Communication course and the presenter of Click Radio on the BBC World Service, with contributions from our roving reporters in the Research Communications group.