Open Tech Calendar

Skeptics on the Fringe Presents:

Matjaz Vidmar - Space Exploration Must be Waste of Money – Should We Fund our NHS Instead!?

Big money is going into Space Exploration and Industry, which inevitably leads to big questions on whether is it really worth it. As excitement for the “final frontier” grows again and a new (commercial) Space Race brewing, various countries are making contradictory claims on anything from asteroid mining for precious metals to building a “space force”. Are you starting to ask yourself: what are they really doing up there? Should we go back to the Moon? Moreover, Scotland now wants to be part of it all, too, but how much will it cost to build a spaceport in Sutherland? Do we need to build new roads first? To cut through these confusing propositions, Matjaz Vidmar will take us on a short guided tour of what it is all about and lead on a discussion on whether we should do more “Space” or would it be better to fund the NHS instead?

Matjaz Vidmar is a researcher in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies at the University of Edinburgh and at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. He is an (Astro)Physicist by training, with further degrees in Social Science and he is researching innovation and organisational change as well as other social dimensions of Astronomy and Outer Space Exploration and Industry. In addition, he is involved in many international initiatives to develop the future of these fields, from running technical projects to coordinating research networks and institutions. He is also a university lecturer, tutor and mentor, and an award-winning science communicator, with events delivered in several countries and in leading science and arts venues and festivals.

You can find more about Matjaz, his work, and how to get in touch, at www.roe.ac.uk
Twitter - @vidmarmatjaz

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