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Technologies for space, deep oceans, and antarctica

22 March 2021

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Reported by Kate McNeil, CSaP Communications Coordinator

Recent advances in science and technology have created new opportunities for us to explore and study Antarctica, the deep ocean, and near-Earth space in a way that until recently, would have been unimaginable.

With scientists living and working in Antarctica year-round, thousands of satellites orbiting the earth – including more than 150 Earth observation satellites – and autonomous underwater vehicles exploring the ocean depths, new technologies are helping us to understand our planet, and the impact of humanity upon it, in even the most remote and extreme environments.

In our lates science and policy podcast series, Dr Rob Doubleday is joined by special guests from the worlds of research, industry, and policy making to address some of the science and policy questions which are shaping our interactions with near space, deep ocean environments, and Antarctica. In the first episode of this series, we discussed the latest technological innovations in these areas with Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, the National Oceanography Centre’s Dr Julie Robidart, the British Antarctic Survey’s Head of Science Engineering Michael Rose, and CSaP Policy Intern Anthony Lindley.

You can listen to the episode here:

Technology and space

According to Dr Graham Turnock, three categories of technological change have driven developments in human capabilities to explore space. Firstly, the miniaturisation of electronic components – driven by developments in the communications industry. Secondly, the development of information processing and artificial intelligence has allowed for the analysis of enormous quantities of information collected in and about space. Finally, application specific technology has been driven by the challenge of reducing launch costs. Improving the efficiency of existing technologies through innovations such as Elon Musk’s reusable rockets, is helping to spur innovation forward. Dr Turnock also noted that the space sector has become a subcategory of the general communications sector, but that there remain additional challenges in making components appropriate for space use because of the need for radiation hardening.

For those working on the development of space technologies, the technology development curve comes with long planning horizons – with roughly 30 years between initial planning development and operational mission status in some cases. In this field, reusable rockets and propulsion technologies remain key areas where further developments are needed.

Exploring the deep: Technologies at sea

Advances in ocean exploration have been spurred by developments in seafloor mapping technologies, which have allowed for high resolution maps and the integration of maps across grids. In this area, Dr Robidart has suggested that advances in technology have been accompanied by increased public engagement, through technologies such as remote telepresence. Scientists can use remotely operated vehicles tethered to ships which might be able to host 30 scientists, but the footage from these remotely operated vehicles can now be broadcast into classrooms in real time.

With the support of philanthropists, such as James Cameron, there have also been advances in human occupied vehicles for the deep ocean – with seven now in existence globally. However, Dr Robidart suggests that the pace of technological development for the deep ocean is not advancing as rapidly as that in space.

While there are sensors and imaging technologies which have been developed in recent years, to make further progress the global scientific community needs to reach consensus on the essential variables we want to measure, how to measure them, and how to standardise them.

Technological advances in Antarctica

Meanwhile, for Antarctic researchers, one of the biggest technological advances of the past decade has been remote sensing, which allows for the use of radars to develop accurate measurements from space. Often, those working in Antarctic research are trying to resolve spatial and temporal resolution, Michael Rose suggests. From space, you can see things happening on a continent-sized scale, while on the ground things happen at a far higher resolution but without the degree of certainty that your findings are generalisable across a greater area. Advances in polar research have also been driven by innovations in electronics, communications, and robotics, which have allowed instruments to use scarce power more efficiently, get data away from Antarctica, and explore under the ice shelves.


CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast’s six-part miniseries on Science & Policy for Space, Deep Oceans & Antarctica will be released throughout March and April 2021. This series is available across all major podcasting platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts, Podbean, ListenNotes, Acast, Player.FM, Podcast Addict, and Castbox. This series is hosted by Dr Rob Doubleday and is produced by Kate McNeil with the support of research assistants Alice Millington and Anthony Lindley.