Dealing in hope: Reflections on an inspiring summer

The Benedictine monks of Beuron are on a mission to digitise their 500,000 theological texts – a task they say will take 70 to 80 years. The current librarian will have passed away long before the project’s completion, but he is passionate about it. He believes in a better future and of multi-decadal endeavours to make it so.?

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In stark contrast, only 43% of 16-24 year olds in the UK – barely two in every five – said they are positive about the future in general when surveyed last year. More than one in four are actively negative about the future. The hope that we associate with youth is not the current reality.?

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I was rocked by this survey. It throws into sharp relief why championing space for the benefits on Earth is at the centre of what we do at the UK Space Agency. Space has inspired wonder and hope for as long as humanity has existed, and today’s societies across the world need hope.?

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Napoleon said that a leader is a dealer in hope. At Space Comm Expo in Farnborough back in June I argued that we are all leaders, and dealers, in hope. Purposeful, professional hope in a better world, because of the opportunity space gives us to protect what we care most about, to prosper together, and to discover the wonders of the Universe.? I wanted to publicly link the why and the what of the UK Space Agency way back to hope, and will continue to do so.?

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After what has been an exciting and full-on summer for the UK Space Agency, September has brought the welcome certainty that the UK will fully participate in both the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes. Many of us have long wanted this certainty for our industry and academics and I’m delighted our hopes have been realised. ?

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We have been busy taking our Space for Everyone tour across the country, sharing our 72-foot replica rocket with communities from Southampton to Aberdeen.?The changeable weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of more than 70,000 space enthusiasts and curious passersby who have already engaged with us and our exhibiting partners at every stop.?The tour has been so popular, that we have added three more locations (Wrexham, Glasgow and Plymouth) to the roster, extending our journey into October.

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For those who haven’t been able to visit us in-person, we created a digital version of the tour , with resources to help inspire young people about the opportunities space can bring, and show how they can start forging their own careers in the sector.?Investing in the diversity of tools needed to reach people of all backgrounds and skills is crucial to the evolution of any industry.?

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In July, we worked with NASA to host a workshop exploring Moon to Mars Architecture at the Royal Institution in London, inviting technical experts from 16 countries to input into NASA’s space exploration architecture, central to driving forward the Artemis programme.?Decades after the Apollo lunar missions, this workshop brought international space agencies, and their wealth of homegrown knowledge and expertise, around the table to be active participants in the development of NASA’s long-term plans.?

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Last month, we also announced the recipients to receive the first phase of our ￡20 million International Bilateral Fund investments, which will help UK organisations link up with the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, Singapore, South Africa and more to form collaborations that will progress space research and catalyse investment in new technologies.?

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I do my share of the talking, but I also spend a lot of the time listening. I get to see how colleagues with a whole range of specialisms in communications, applications, Earth observation, space sustainability and multilateral diplomacy (and much more) come together to actively lead the debate and push the thinking.? This applies both within the Agency and with colleagues and counterparts around the world.?

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It all underlines how important teamwork is to build a prosperous and inspiring space sector. We can look back over a season that has seen communities gather for our rocket tour and international space organisations sit together to design the future of exploration. And as we look ahead to the opportunities that our renewed participation in Horizon and Copernicus will bring, it’s very clear to me that working together lets us all be dealers in hope.??

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