On the 1st of April Britain joined the rest of the industrialised world by launching its very own national space agency. For many its been a long time coming; indeed, some 25 years ago one of the Twentieth Century’s greatest social thinkers called for not only a UK space agency, but a simulated Martian colony on the South Bank of the river Thames.
It would have been dismissed as ludicrous if it hadn’t been the brainchild of Michael Young, the founder of the Open University and the Consumers Association. It promised to kick start a new era of space exploration and change London’s skyline for ever. In this Radio 4 documentary, his son, the author and journalist Toby Young, reveals the secrets of his father’s space venture.
We hear from Colin Pillinger, Mars expert Robert Zubrin and some of Michael Young’s collaborators including leading cosmologist Lord Rees. Toby has written an article about his father’s venture here.
The idea came from Somethin Else’s favourite geek Pete Law and was produced by Barney Rowntree.
The programme airs on the 7th of April at 11am on BBC Radio 4
