Eric Philips is no stranger to the unknown- he has pioneered his life around exploring where people haven’t gone before. This venture has led him to become a polar explorer, guide, and astronaut as well as an educator and author. Eric’s feats are nothing short of remarkable, from becoming the first Australian alongside Jon Muir to ski both the North and South Poles, pioneering numerous new routes to the South Pole and a sea-to-sea crossing of Greenland by using skis, kites and kayaks.

He was also onboard Fram2 which was the first spacecraft to fly in polar orbit, spending almost 4 days in space and completing 55 orbits over the North and South Poles.

Eric shares his earliest recollection being fascinated by space; that was when he was 7 years old, watching the first moon landing on a black and white TV in his school classroom. It wasn’t until years down the track when he crossed paths with someone while guiding that this dream was able to come to fruition.

On the podcast, Eric talks about his journey, how he knew what to follow when there was no clear path ahead and how he navigated staying on track even when ‘the longitudes inevitably pull you in different ways’. Eric also talks about his space travel and polar expeditions and we discuss the different ways of going about it, how expeditions allow for time to disconnect and the challenges we face with constant stimulation.

“Go back to what makes the blood surge through your veins, what makes your heart skip a beat when you see something that inspires you… follow that little lead, chances are it’s going to take you to amazing places.”

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You can follow him on socials and find out more on his website as well as the space missin with F2 here. To find out about upcoming Svalbard and Greenland expeditions, head over to Ice Trek. Until the next episode, Explore Your Core

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