The King’s quest to protect the planet from environmental destruction has been one of his greatest passions for over five decades. But he has a more out-of-this-world mission, too: to clean up outer space.
Speaking to hello! at the Prince’s Trust Invest in Futures gala dinner last week, Major Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to walk in space on a European Space Agency (ESA) mission, told us: “His Majesty’s goal is to make space as clean and sustainable as possible, an initiative he began, which is very close to my heart as well.
“Removing debris from space is high on the agenda, as is ensuring we’re responsible in the fuels we use and making them as clean as possible. Most of our climate data comes from space, so it’s a really valuable source of information, and working on these clean energy schemes is really important.
“The King is always at the forefront of what’s going on in engineering, technology and the environment. These are areas he’s very enthusiastic about and where we’re trying to make leaps forward.”
SEAL OF APPROVAL
It was the King who in 2022, as Prince of Wales, declared his intention for his Sustainable Markets Initiative to create an Astra Carta programme – like his Terra Carta that recognises global companies leading the way in climate and sustainability on Earth – to boost sustainability throughout the space industry.
Tim was among the guests – alongside UK future astronauts Rosemary Coogan and John McFall, representatives from the UK Space Agency, the ESA, Nasa and other space agencies, and Queen guitarist and astrophysicist Sir Brian May – who attended the launch of His Majesty’s Astra Carta seal at Buckingham Palace last June.
Addressing the room, the King spoke of ensuring the protection of outer space – “having made rather a mess of this planet”.
THE NEXT GIANT LEAP
Recalling that event, Tim told us: “The King spoke t
