Mann on the Moon?

Have you ever been to the island’s observatory in Foxdale and realised that light pollution is extremely sparse? 

I certainly have!

The island is an ideal location for space travel, not only do we have a history of innovation but we also have the quality of our telecommunications industry. 

First of all, the island has experience in space exploration. The Isle of Man has contributed to the exploration of snow on Mars. Tina Rawlinson (a former Cavendish Trust company director) said in her article ‘An island in space’: ‘Isle of Man manufactured optics have been included on the last three Martian rovers and at one point were instrumental in the discovery of high altitude snow on Mars’. 

The island holds an advantage with its clear, pristine night skies. This means that more exploration and stargazing can take place. 

NASA has previously said ‘Clouds in a planet’s atmosphere can block the view to underlying molecules that reveal information about the planet’s composition and history’. Without clear night skies in the past, space exploration would have just been discarded, and so with the island’s clear from light pollution skies, there is copious potential for the exploration of space. 

Not only does the island’s dark skies contribute to why it is a good place to further space exploration, but also the Isle of Man is home to the ‘Space Data Association’. 

The ‘Space Data Association’ was devised by Manx satellite operators in 2009 and continues to this day, overlooking and protecting the safety of Manx satellite operations and also covers the long-term sustainability of the space environment. With this in mind, the island is a magnet for space exploration. 

Digital Isle of Man said that the island’s ‘National Telecoms Strategy’ report, (released in October 2018) ‘could continue to develop and implement telecoms infrastructure which meets the needs of both business and residents alike’. This is significant for space exploration, as it has the potential to widen satellite usage on the Isle of Man. 

Both the ‘Space Data Association’ and the ‘National Telecoms Strategy’ report mean that the island is a reliable satellite source, demonstrating our ability to contribute widely to space exploration. 

The island has access to satellite communications by being the home to multiple space exploration companies. For example, Mansat, which provides access to the international telecommunication union (a specialised agency in the United Nations). The ITU oversees the allocation to the radio frequencies and also satellite orbits. As said from the United Nations sustainable development goals platform ‘ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strives to improve access to and use of ICTs to underserved communities worldwide’. By having this communication link, it means that the island has influence in ideas for satellite communication and increasing space exploration. 

Mansats founder and chairman, Chris Stott, founded Mansat in 2000. Mansat has influenced young lives on the island and has encouraged them to study issues surrounding the space environment. Chris helped to set up Mansat in order to give students from the Isle of Man an opportunity to explore the space industry. Mansat also holds a yearly space scholarship programme, funding the two winners to travel to NASA in Texas, America and to learn more about the works of the space industry. 

On the matter of satellites, Cavendish Trust has previously said that there are around 20 satellites in orbit that are owned by Manx-based businesses. Elon Musk’s satellite internet service ‘Starlink’ was previously given a licence to build on Manx soil. Widening the ability of space exploration on the island. 

With this in mind, I believe that the Isle of Man is the ideal location for space exploration and has multiple opportunities to advance exploration further into the depths of space.