Tim Peake to bring The Quest To Explore Space to St George’s Hall in Bradford

History-making astronaut Tim Peake will land in Yorkshire on his latest tour and tells of exciting space tech advances that could help us here on Earth.

Tim Peake made history when he became the first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015. Now, he says, “I have to remind myself that going to space is still something that is very hard to do.

“Only 600 people have reached Earth’s orbit, and fewer than half of those have done a spacewalk… The fact that I am one of them will never not be incredibly special to me, and it’s an honour to share the experience.”

He spent six months living and working in space, and for good measure ran the length of the London Marathon on a treadmill while on board. So a night in Bradford during his latest speaking tour ought to be a walk in the park.

Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space brings to life the adventures of astronauts in a celebration of human spaceflight and gives a fascinating insight into what lies ahead.

“It’s like the greatest hits of space exploration, with amazing footage and behind the scenes stories of what it’s really like to leave our planet,” Tim said.

The show debuted in autumn 2024 and followed Tim’s first tour My Journey To Space in 2021-2023, where he shared his personal story of space flight.

In the latest, he looks back on the wider history of space exploration, with upcoming dates set to feature new content following the recent Artemis II.

“This tour is fast-paced, fun and entertaining,” Tim says. “It showcases the extraordinary endeavour of human spaceflight; the excitement, the drama, the highs and lows, right from the early days of the 1950s, through to the current Artemis program to return to the Moon, and beyond that to the first human mission to Mars.

“With the Artemis II mission having taken its latest steps this year, I’m looking forward to some new elements in the tour, talking about what’s happening right now and how that’s all going. And I suspect the Q&A – which is always a favourite part of the night for me – will be quite different this time out too.

“I love being able to go on tour because I can interact with people from a variety of backgrounds. I do a lot of talks all year round, but they are often with people linked to the space sector in some way. The tour is a chance to meet the wider public, and it does still surprise me how interested people are in my story – and I am always grateful for that!”

While the tour reflects on space stories from the past, Tim is also focussed on his own possible future exploration – working closely with a number of organisations on their plans.

He has been closely linked with the Axiom Space and UK Space Agency (UKSA) project, supporting the US-based company’s ambitions for an all-UK mission as part of their work in building a commercial space station as a replacement for the ISS.

“Axiom’s work is hugely exciting with so many potential benefits for the UK, and I’m delighted to be involved,” Tim said. “Absolutely I would love to go back to space if the chance came up; I don’t know of any astronaut who wouldn’t want another mission to space. It’s just an incredible experience.”

Although he recently marked the 10th anniversary of his own return from space, Tim’s excitement for all things space as well as STEM education (science, technology, engineering and maths) shows no sign of waning.

“It’s crazy looking back,” he said. “It feels like yesterday but so much has happened and there is now so much to be proud of in our UK space sector. We have companies in the UK doing real cutting-edge work and driving forwards some of what is possible.

“We now have three UK astronauts, Rosemary Coogan, Meganne Christian and John McFall all available for missions. When I think back to when I joined ESA in 2009, the UK didn’t even contribute to the human space programme – and now I get to be here for them, to help and guide them through this incredible experience.”

These are momentous times for the space industry. While a moonwalk is on the cards for the Artemis IV crew as early as 2028, and work is ongoing towards a crewed mission to Mars, some of the most exciting work will have impacts much closer to home in the coming years.

“We have occupied the ISS for nearly 25 years now – and it is essentially a giant science lab,” Tim explains. “There are components in modern mobile phones which were first tested on the ISS.

“But we’re getting more specialist in the science taking place there now. There is more targeted pharmaceutical research as companies realise the potential available to them. For example, growing protein crystals in space for motor neurone and Parkinson’s diseases could lead to much better treatments for these conditions.

“We’re at the stage where space can become a manufacturing hub for all sorts of things, which can then be brought back down to Earth.

“There are things you can build in space which can’t be built on Earth, because of the effects of gravity. For example, there are attempts to grow human tissue and organs on Earth, using bio ink and 3D printers. The problem on Earth is that small structures need some sort of scaffolding because gravity causes them to collapse, but in space, you can 3D print human organs more easily, because there is no gravity.

“It sounds like the wildest science fiction, but it really is science fact and it’s where we are at right now. Five to 10 years and we could be printing full-size human organs in space that could be a feasible transplant option for patients.”

Tim Peake brings Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space to St George’s Hall in Bradford on Saturday, September 26. Tickets: nothird.co.uk/tim-peake