The future of space travel

## Summary
Episode details Radio 4 , · 26 Mar 2026 , · 28 mins The future of space travel BBC Inside Science Play Bookmark Bookmark Subscribe Subscribe Available for 27 days Are we, at last, getting the spacefaring future we were promised back in the 1960s? Dr Hannah Sargeant at the University of Leicester explains the potential of nuclear-powered space travel, how it could take us further into the solar system than ever before, and why it has taken decades for the technology to reach this point. This week science reporter Caroline Steel has been enthralled by the controlled transportation of antimatter. Caroline Steel joins Tom for her pick of the week’s science news.

## Article Content
Episode details
Radio 4
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·
26 Mar 2026
,
·
28 mins
The future of space travel
BBC Inside Science
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Available for 27 days
Are we, at last, getting the spacefaring future we were promised back in the 1960s? This week, NASA has been outlining ambitions for a base on the Moon and, perhaps more surprisingly, the development of a new class of spacecraft powered by nuclear electric propulsion. Dr Hannah Sargeant at the University of Leicester explains the potential of nuclear-powered space travel, how it could take us further into the solar system than ever before, and why it has taken decades for the technology to reach this point.

Meanwhile, a lorry carrying a very unusual cargo has been making careful laps around the campus of CERN in Switzerland. This week science reporter Caroline Steel has been enthralled by the controlled transportation of antimatter. With insights from Dr Harry Cliff at the University of Cambridge, explore why trapping and moving antimatter is such a milestone for physicists.

Plus, rising beaver populations in the UK and the science of brain preservation. Caroline Steel joins Tom for her pick of the week’s science news.

Presenter: Tom Whipple

Producer: Harrison Lewis and Katie Tomsett

Production co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

Editor: Martin Smith
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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
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### Areas for Consideration
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### Implications
- Episode details Radio 4 , · 26 Mar 2026 , · 28 mins The future of space travel BBC Inside Science Play Bookmark Bookmark Subscribe Subscribe Available for 27 days Are we, at last, getting the spacefaring future we were promised back in the 1960s?
- Dr Hannah Sargeant at the University of Leicester explains the potential of nuclear-powered space travel, how it could take us further into the solar system than ever before, and why it has taken decades for the technology to reach this point.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers science, week, future topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 221.