Spy satellites orbiting the moon. Space metals worth billions. People on Mars within our lifetime. This isn’t science fiction. It’s astropolitics.

Join journalist, broadcaster, and best-selling author Tim Marshall as he explores power, politics and the future of humanity in a talk on his latest book The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World.

Spy satellites orbiting the moon. Space metals worth billions. People on Mars within our lifetime. This isn’t science fiction. It’s astropolitics.

Space: the new frontier, a wild and lawless place. It is already central to communication, military strategy and international relations on Earth. Now, it is the latest arena for human exploration, exploitation – and, possibly, conquest. China, the USA and Russia are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics.

With all the insight and wit that have made Tim Marshall the UK’s most popular writer on geopolitics, this gripping book shows that politics and geography are as important in the skies as on the ground, covering great-power rivalry; technology; commerce; combat in space; and what it all means for us down on Earth.

This event is part of our Museum of the Moon events programme and the audience will be sat under this wonderful artwork by artist Luke Jerram.

Date | Tuesday 24 October

Time | 7.30pm

Tickets | £10 plus booking fee. Available from our Eventbrite page. 

About the Speaker

Tim Marshall is a British journalist, author, and broadcaster, specialising in foreign affairs and international diplomacy. Marshall is a guest commentator on world events for the BBC, Sky News and a guest presenter on LBC, and was formerly the diplomatic and also foreign affairs editor for Sky News.

He has written seven books including Prisoners of Geography – a New York Times Best Seller and #1 Sunday Times bestseller. He also released a children's illustrated version of this book in 2019, Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps, nominated for Waterstones Book of the Year. Other titles include The Power of Geography a #2 Sunday Times bestseller; Shadowplay: The Inside Story Of Europe's Last War, and 2018 Sunday Times bestseller Divided: Why We’re Living In An Age Of Walls.

Further information

• Copies of The Future of Geography: How Power and Politics in Space Will Change Our World will be available to purchase on the evening and Tim will be signing copies after the event.

• Doors will open at 6.45pm for those attending to see the Museum of the Moon before the talk starts.

• This event will not be streamed or recorded.

Museum of the Moon is a touring artwork by UK artist Luke Jerram.

Measuring seven metres in diameter, the moon features 120dpi detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface. At an approximate scale of 1:500,000, each centimetre of the internally lit spherical sculpture represents 5km of the moon’s surface*.

The moon has always inspired humanity, acting as a ‘cultural mirror’ to society, reflecting the ideas and beliefs of all people around the world. Over the centuries, the moon has been interpreted as a god and as a planet. It has been used as a timekeeper, calendar and been a source of light to aid night-time navigation. Throughout history the moon has inspired artists, poets, scientists, writers and musicians the world over. The ethereal blue light cast by a full moon, the delicate crescent following the setting sun, or the mysterious dark side of the moon has evoked passion and exploration. Different cultures around the world have their own historical, cultural, scientific and religious relationships to the moon. And yet somehow, despite these differences, the moon connects us all.

The installation is a fusion of lunar imagery, moonlight and surround sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello award winning composer Dan Jones.

*The massive 23 metre wide, high resolution image used to create the moon artwork, was created by the Astrogeology Science Centre in the USA. The imagery was taken by a NASA satellite carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera launched in 2010.