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The billionaire space tourism race could be one giant leap for air pollution
01 February 2022, 1:00 pm–2:00 pm
In this Lunch Hour Lecture Dr Marais will discuss why air pollution from rocket emissions is more hazardous to the environment than earthbound industries.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
UCL Events
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About the lecture:
As we make major sacrifices to limit our environmental damage to the planet, the billionaire space tourism companies Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX are burning dirty fuels to send a few wealthy people on a joyride to outer space. Only three companies are offering space tourism flights and there were far fewer this year than the millions of flights by the aviation industry. So, should we be concerned? In this talk, Dr Marais will discuss why air pollution from rocket emissions is more hazardous to the environment than earthbound industries.
About the Speaker
Dr Eloise Marais
Associate Professor of Physical Geography at UCL
Dr Eloise Marais leads the UCL Atmospheric Composition and Air Quality research group that uses and develops state-of-the-science numerical models to understand the impact of humans on air quality, climate, public health and the chemical composition of the atmosphere. Dr Marais also contributes to public discourse on the potential influence of a growing space industry on the environment, following substantial traditional and social media attention of her The Conversation article on the impact of space tourism on climate. More about Dr Marais: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/eloise-marais.