Eric Philips has always loved cold weather and from young age became fixated on the idea of polar exploration and following in the footsteps of the adventurers he read about in National Geographic.

And he went on to lead gruelling expeditions to the North and South Poles, pushing his body and mind to the limits.

Eric also had dreams of travelling into space and had assumed the would be impossible.

But while on a ski expedition in Svalbard, he met a crypto billionaire who was planning a trip to space and he later asked Eric to come along.

The crew Eric was a part of would go on became the first human spaceflight mission to explore Earth from a polar orbit and fly over the Earth’s polar regions.

This episode of Conversations was produced by Jen Leake, the Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.

It explores polar exploration, South Pole. North Pole, hypothermia, mental and physical exhaustion, physical endurance, kite skiing, antarctica, large families, drug overdose, Space x, polar orbit, dramatic weight loss, rescue, failure

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