Britons in space: Reaching for the stars

As the fourth Briton prepares to journey into space, Steve Connor examines why all but one of them have had to take US citizenship

"British" and "astronaut" are not often seen together in the same sentence. But last night the British astronaut Nicholas Patrick was preparing to become the fourth Briton to be sent into space, where he will help rewire the International Space Station.

Dr Patrick, 42, was originally from Saltburn in Teeside and was educated at Harrow and Cambridge University, before leaving for the United States to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. But the crucial addition to his curriculum vitae occurred in 1994 when he became a US citizen - it was his passport to becoming a fully-fledged Shuttle astronaut.

Three of the four British-born astronauts have taken US citizenship. The first, and wholly British astronaut, Helen Sharman, only managed to get into space after applying in an open competition to win a ride to the Russian Mir space station. The bill for her trip was largely met by the former Soviet Union.

Citizens of America, Russia and China have been launched into space as part of their own country's space effort. There have also been Shuttle astronauts from France, Canada, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Britain, however, stands out as the only major economic power without any official interest in manned space flight. The Government's stated position is that space is an activity that must demonstrate "user benefits" rather than being a national status symbol.

"Manned space does not best meet these objectives and we do not therefore take part in it at present," said a spokeswoman for the British National Space Centre (BNSC), which is part of the Department of Trade and Industry. Britain has preferred to invest in cheaper robotic space missions, such as the ill-fated attempt to land the Beagle-2 probe on the surface of Mars.

"The UK is a leading player in such robotic exploration," said the BNSC spokesman.

"Not only does it help UK scientists to be among world leaders in pushing the frontier of planetary and space science, but robotic exploration brings benefits to our industry in terms of hi-tech jobs, and drives technological innovation which can then be applied in other industrial sectors."

But no matter how successful robots are at exploring the final frontier, it is manned space travel that fires the public imagination. A recent BBC survey found that 61 per cent of the public were in favour of Britain playing a lead role in human space exploration.

The main reason why Britain does not have its own astronauts is cost. Because space travel is risky, a manned mission has to have expensive back-up systems and built-in component redundancy in case something goes wrong.

It is estimated that a manned mission is more than 10 times more expensive than a comparable robotic mission. But proponents of manned space flight would argue that manned missions are also 10 times more effective than using just robots.

Last year, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) published its nine-month investigation into the scientific case for human space exploration. Its main conclusion was that there is an overriding case for sending humans into space, alongside robots. "There is science of profound interest to humankind that can only be pursued on the Moon and Mars by the direct involvement of humans in situ," the society's report concluded.

"We find that profound scientific questions relating to the history of the solar system and the existence of life beyond Earth can best - perhaps only - be achieved by human exploration on the Moon or Mars, supported by appropriate automated systems," the report stated.

This week the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) announced it had detected strong evidence of liquid water running down the sides of craters on the surface of Mars. If confirmed, the discovery means that there is a real possibility that simple lifeforms may be be living underneath the Martian soil. The find has given greater impetus to the idea that one day we might send humans to explore Mars. Nasa's administrator, Mike Griffin, has already announced that America intends to send astronauts back to the Moon by 2020 - this time to set up a permanent lunar base.

China is also gearing up its fledgling space operation for manned flights. Meanwhile the European Space Agency is developing its own Aurora mission to explore Mars, which might involve manned missions, possibly with the help of Nasa or Russia.

However, no Britons will be part of the European Astronaut Corps because of the Government's intransigence towards the idea of funding manned space missions. It is a position that it may find itself trying to defend more vigorously than in previous years.

"How would public opinion in the UK view a situation in 10 to 15 years' time when all the major nations - except the UK - were involved in high-profile missions to the Moon or Mars?" asked the RAS's report.

"How significant would the effect be on the career choices of British children and students? Would our industrial competitiveness suffer, or would the reduced public investment lead to a stronger economy."

The report's three authors were specifically chosen to review the case for manned space exploration because they had no stated views on it one way or the other. The authors - Professor Frank Close from Oxford University; John Dudeney, of the British Antarctic Survey; and Professor Ken Pounds, from the University of Leicester - found the case was pretty convincing. "While the exploration of the Moon and Mars can and is being addressed by unmanned missions, we have concluded that the capabilities of robotic spacecraft will fall well short of those of human explorers for the foreseeable future."

It is not a view shared universally by scientists. The astronomer Sir Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society, is one of the more high-profile opponents of publicly-funded manned missions. "My view about manned space flight is that, as a scientist and practical man, I'm against it, but as a human being, I'm in favour of it," he said. "The practical reason for sending men into space it getting weaker with every advance in robotics and miniaturisation. So it can only be justified as a human adventure."

The authors of the RAS's report, however, believe otherwise. Humans think and act laterally, in ways that robots cannot, they argue.

"It is self-evident that humans are better explorers than machines; this is certainly true now and for the foreseeable future," they said.

Steve Squyres, the principal scientist on the Nasa mission to explore Mars with robotic rovers, said: "We are many decades away from robots that can match humans even in the lab. And laboratory robotics is about 20 years ahead of space robotics, he added.

The RAS's report estimated that it would cost Britain about £150m a year for more than 15 years to take part in a collaborative manned space programme - about six times higher than the sum put aside to participate in the European Aurora programme.

But until the day comes when the Government decides to spent taxpayers' money on manned space flight, the only way a British boy or girl can hope to become an astronaut when they grow up is to apply for an American passport.

The Astronauts

Nicholas Patrick

He was due to hit the skies last night in the shuttle Discovery, making him the fourth Briton in space. He has three children and comes from North Yorkshire.

Dr Patrick's love of aviation was fuelled by the RAF, which taught him to fly in the Cambridge University Squadron. After graduating, he moved to America, becoming a US citizen in 1994. He worked for four years as an engineer for the Aircraft Engines Division of General Electric in Boston. After gaining a master's degree and PhD in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined Boeing's Commercial Airplane Group. He was selected by Nasa for astronaut training in June 1998. He has logged more than 1,900 hours as a pilot in more than 20 types of aircraft, including 800 hours as an instructor.

Helen Sharman OBE

A chemistry degree from Sheffield University led Helen Sharman to a job working for Mars Confectionery, where she studied the properties of chocolate. In June 1989, driving home in Slough, she heard the fateful job advertisement, "Astronaut wanted; no experience necessary".

After beating 13,000 other applicants, she was selected by Project Juno, a private British space programme. The programme was to fund her flight with the Russians to Mir, but the consortium of private businesses failed to raise the money. Finally, Moscow footed the bill.

After 18 months of rigorous training, Sharman became the first Briton in space, spending eight days on Mir. She was one month from her 28th birthday, making her one of the youngest astronauts.

Since then, she has become an ambassador for science, lecturing internationally and presenting numerous radio and television programmes.

Michael Foale

Michael Foale was the first Briton to walk in space and also holds the record for the most time spent in space by a US citizen: 374 days, 11 hours and 19 minutes. Foale, who has joint British and American nationality, made four shuttle missions to Mir and the International Space Station. Born in Louth and raised in Cambridge, Dr Foale took his PhD in astrophysics from Cambridge in 1982. He joined Nasa in 1983, took US citizenship, and was selected as an astronaut candidate in 1987. In 1997, Dr Foale spent six hours in space inspecting the damage caused to Mir when a resupply vessel struck it. In 1999, he made an eight-hour spacewalk to replace parts of the Hubble telescope. He became CBE in 2004.

Piers Sellers

As a boy, Sellers was fascinated when Yuri Gagarin was launched into space. In his teens, he joined the Royal Air Force cadets, which taught him to fly before he had even learnt to drive. In 1982, after a PhD in science and biometeorology, Dr Sellers left for America with his wife, three suitcases and £60 to work for Nasa. Nine years later he took US citizenship. Sellers was selected as a Nasa astronaut candidate in 1996 and flew his first space mission in 2002. His last was to the International Space Station on Discovery in July.