This book is a collection of other people’s research, experiences and anecdotes, which I’ve had the pleasure of stitching together over the last year. There are many to whom I owe a deep debt of gratitude.
Thank you to everyone at BBC Science, led by Andrew Cohen, for the extraordinary opportunities that working with you has given me. To my friends Helen Czerski, Jim Al-Khalili, Jo Durrant and everyone in the Cheltenham Science Festival green room. To the great Emma Pound for letting me copy your homework. To Adam Rutherford (as mentioned in Viz) and Georgia Murray for the moral support and the many splendid evenings.
Thank you Gill Norman for letting me wild camp in the British Interplanetary Society Library. To Richard Garriott for comparing scars in the pub. Art Dula and the Heinlein Prize Trust for our spacesuit adventures. Libby Jackson and everyone at the UK Space Agency, Sheona Urquhart for the whistle stop tour of the universe. Roger Highfield, Doug Millard and the Science Museum staff for such valued friendship, and to Helen Sharman who I always enjoy bumping into there. To George Abbey for regaling me with early wild west NASA stories over breakfast.
Thank you to my cherished agents, Tracey McLeod, Theia Nankivell, Chloe Gott and everyone at KBJ mission control. Thanks to the ground crew: Louise Crane, George Perry (the fact checker’s fact checker), Mike Jones for saving me from myself, my superb editor Nicki Crossley for constantly reminding me what the book was about when I’d forget, and all at Simon & Schuster who have put up with me and my schedule with patience and good humour. To Ian Whent for photograph chasing, Bee Willey for the lovely illustrations and Ash Western for making this book look so beautiful and going many, many extra miles.
Thank you to the legions of contributors: Thorsten Schmidt, Jeremy Markovich for our moon flag chat, Louisa Preston, The Arts Catalyst, Paul and Marleen Van Hoeydonck, Agnes Meyer-Brandis, Gérard Chatelier, David Meerman Scott, Rob Elliott, Cristina de Middel and Rob La Frenais. Everyone at ESA, particularly Jan Woerner, Margherita Buoso, Maxim Mommerency and Romain Charles who shared with me the fascinating story of the Chilean miners. Thanks Al Worden – a true American hero, and to Vix Southgate for our day at Alton Towers. Thank you Jill Stuart and Oleg Kotov for your advice, Iya Whiteley for the translating and the origami lessons, and Tom Lehrer for your charming e-mail. Also Lori Styler and Rosemary Thurber for your eleventh hour kindness and permission to reprint The Moth and The Star. Thanks to Beth Healey for letting me tag along on your adventures. To Tim and Rebecca Peake, Michael Foale and all the astronauts who have kindly signed my Ladybird Exploring Space book.
A special thanks to filmmaker Christopher Riley, whose depth of knowledge is remarkable – thank you for my favourite space fact: Michael Collins, en route to the Apollo 11 launch, can be seen holding a mysterious large brown paper bag. It contained a small trout – a gift for the launchpad ‘czar’, Guenter Wendt.
Apologies to my family for putting up with me spending a year off-planet with the many communication blackouts. To William Sutton for a lifetime of friendship and inspiration.
Finally to Tamsin Edwards, whose creativity, thoroughness and work ethic is without equal – thank you for the structural support, IT support and life support. And without whom, this book wouldn’t exist.
DALLAS CAMPBELL
July 2017