Podcasts

The commercial space sector doubled in size over the last decade and is expected to triple in size over the next 20 years. Exactly 50 years since man last walked on the moon, the recent launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 heralds a new era of lunar space travel.

You cannot just aim to be an astronaut. To be considered, you have to be good at something first. You need to excel in a career on Earth before pursuing a second in space.

The UK’s Ground Engineering Awards have recognised Fugro as the Ground Investigation Specialist of the Year 2022.

The best preparation is often to make ourselves as adaptable as possible, to be resilient to changes in circumstance. That is a mantra to Mark Sinclair, better known as Captain Coconut, who we last spoke to in Episode 4: Learning from Adventure.

It began with a five-month expedition in a small rowboat crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Twin realisations struck the younger Julie Angus: the vastness and lack of information available on our oceans as well as the vulnerability of the marine environment.

As the world transitions to a low carbon economy, the way we use the seas will also change. Vessels are in a state of flux as new communications technology and advances in automation mean that the requirements for a crew are rapidly disappearing for many operations.

In May we told the story of Charles Czajkowski, one of the few pancreatic cancer patients to have survived beyond six months of diagnosis. Fewer than 7% of patients survive beyond five years of diagnosis.

Good intentions alone will not secure the future of our seas. More than 90% of trade moves across the ocean, and the global population eyes the marine environment as an increasing source of food. Added to this, a range of new activities are forecast to increase the ocean economy from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to $3 trillion in 2030.

In some ways more is known about the surface of Mars than our own planet. With over 70 % of the Earth’s surface covered in ocean, more than 75 % of this watery space has never been mapped.

For much of history the seas have loomed impossibly large and untouchable. This perception is at odds with the vulnerability of ocean environments. Now, following decades of abuse by a growing human society, a realisation has been reached.

This is an episode about filling in the gaps. Gaps in our knowledge of the largest environment on the planet, the ocean. Although it is not quite true that we know less about the ocean floor than outer space, it is still the closest thing we have to an alien environment on Earth.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer in the world. In the UK 50% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die within three months of their diagnosis. Only 7% will survive for five years, the lowest of any common cancer type. We hear from Charles Czajkowski about his battle with pancreatic cancer as an example of what can happen when the response to the disease is done well. We are also joined by Dr. Chris MacDonald from the charity, Pancreatic Cancer UK to understand the research efforts underway to create early diagnosis tools and improve patient outcomes.

Live from Oceanology International in London we discuss how to attract, develop and train the skills needed to handle the tsunami of new technology coming into the sector. Development of uncrewed vessels and improved digital communications are creating new opportunities for people at all levels of career progression.

One fifth the size of the continental US, Alaska stands as America’s only Arctic state. And when it was founded, Alaska was given a special deal. Too remote for full Federal infrastructure funding, Alaska would have to pay for its own needs from the wealth locked away below its frozen soil.