Latest news with #polarexpedition
Travel Daily News
3 days ago
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Oceanwide Expeditions appoints Rémi Bouysset as CEO
Oceanwide Expeditions appoints Rémi Bouysset as CEO, aiming to strengthen global growth, product development, and competitive positioning in polar expedition cruising. VLISSINGEN – Oceanwide Expeditions, an award-winning, industry-leading expedition cruise operator specializing in activity-focused polar itineraries in the Arctic and Antarctica, has announced the appointment of Rémi Bouysset to the role of CEO. This appointment takes effect from 16 June 2025. A strategic appointment for business development Bouysset brings a wealth of industry experience to Oceanwide Expeditions, with a career spanning over 30 years in the travel, hospitality, and luxury sectors. In past leadership and management roles, Bouysset has led growth in business operations in the European market and on a global level. 'It is an honor to join a company so widely respected for its commitment to authentic polar exploration, scientific integrity, and responsible travel. Reconnecting with this world of purposeful, nature-based exploration feels both natural and deeply motivating. Oceanwide Expeditions' reputation is built on substance, a quiet strength rooted in people, knowledge, and passion. Our priority remains to deliver meaningful and memorable journeys to our guests. Their experience is at the heart of everything we do' says Rémi Bouysset. With recent roles leading and managing customer strategy in maritime and yachting operations, tour operations, aviation and helicopter management, and expedition cruising, Bouysset has a broad range of expertise relevant to Oceanwide Expeditions and the expedition cruise industry as a whole. 'We are delighted to welcome Rémi to Oceanwide Expeditions. With his extensive experience and key industry insights, we believe he is well placed to lead the company's strategy in further developing our product offering and brand standing in a time of increasing competition.' said Michel van Gessel, Director. Oceanwide Expeditions is a world-leading polar expedition company specializing in immersive voyages to the Arctic and Antarctica. With a fleet of ice-strengthened vessels and expert-led cruises, the cruise operator provides unparalleled access to some of the planet's most remote and breathtaking landscapes.
ABC News
14-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Australian polar adventurer turned astronaut Eric Philips takes part in historic SpaceX mission
Sitting under the night sky at Eric Philips' home in Victoria's high country, it is hard not to feel close to the cosmos. "The stars are always alluring and the place of dreams, right?" he said. "If anywhere you can let your imagination run wild it's up there, but for me it's no longer imagination. "That's the bizarre thing, it's reality now." Mr Philips is no stranger to extreme environments. As one of the world's leading polar experts, he and friend John Muir were the first Australians to ski to both the North and South Poles. When 7.30 caught up with him he had just returned from his boldest adventure to date – private space travel. Mr Philips became the first Australian to fly into space under the Australian flag as part of a chartered SpaceX mission in early April. The mission was privately funded and commanded by former Chinese national Chun Wang, a crypto billionaire, now a citizen of Malta, who Mr Philips guided on a ski trip in the Arctic Circle in 2023. "It's the most phenomenal tip a client could give me." Mr Wang purchased the chartered spaceflight from Elon Musk's SpaceX for an undisclosed figure. Mr Philips has described Mr Wang as a "denizen of the universe". "He considers himself nomadic because he travels the world, visiting every country that he can and is a Bitcoin entrepreneur, that's how he made his money in order to pay for this mission," he said. The mission, titled 'Fram2' after an early Norwegian polar research ship saw the crew become the first humans to complete an orbit of the North and South Poles. Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen and German polar scientist Rabea Rogge were also on board the 'Dragon' capsule. "It is an autonomous craft. Everything is planned by SpaceX, by ground control, mission control. It's uploaded into the system of the Dragon capsule and it will do everything from launch through to splashdown," Mr Philips said. After a year of training the crew launched from the historic Cape Canaveral in Florida on April 1. Their launch took them beyond the Kármán line, the boundary line 100 kilometres above sea-level where the atmosphere ends and outer space begins. "It's the most immersive experience you could possibly imagine." During the three-and-a-half-day mission in microgravity the crew completed 55 orbits of Earth. "You see all of Earth, all of Earth below you … you can turn around in that dome and you are seeing the entire horizon," Mr Philips said. "That feeling, I knew that would be profound in some way but I didn't know that it would affect me so emotionally. "Looking at Earth from that perch and knowing that we have a pretty rough history of treating our planet the way we do, and with the current bickering and squabbling amongst our people down on Earth, that if everyone could have the opportunity to see this incredible planet from above, I think it would give people much more perspective over their lives and how we should treat our fellow citizens and the Earth itself." While hurtling around the planet the crew conducted 22 research projects designed to pave the way for human long-haul space flight, including the first X-ray in space and the first attempt at growing mushrooms. "There's a big push at the moment to get to Mars and perhaps to build a Mars colony and for humans to inhabit that, so these research projects all contribute to this next phase of human life," Mr Philips said. Despite being in a hostile environment, Mr Philips said at no point did he feel close to death, except for when their spaceship re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. "Then you feel gravity start to take over and you are plummeting down to Earth at more than 500kph in absolute freefall," he said. After a successful splashdown off the coast of California, the crew of Fram2 accomplished one final piece of history, becoming the first astronauts to complete an 'unassisted egress', an exit of the spacecraft without additional medical and operational assistance. Just days after Mr Philip's mission another group took to the sky with private space company Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. An all-female crew, which included his fiancee Lauren Sanchez and pop singer Katy Perry, spent 11 minutes above the Earth. Space travel is currently extremely expensive for both civil and private space agencies, but Mr Philips believes it will become more accessible. He said SpaceX is developing a craft that will take hundreds of people into space. "You can literally board that spaceship like you board an Airbus or a Boeing aircraft and fly internationally. That is in the not-too-distant future, and I can certainly see that happening," he said. "That will ultimately bring the cost down and make space travel available to a wide group of people." Now aged 62, Mr Philips said his celestial experience with SpaceX has ignited his passion for the universe. "There is no question that I look at the night sky now from a different perspective and an acute longing to be back up there, it was such an intoxicating experience," he said. "If I had the opportunity to go back tomorrow, I would take it." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
Travel Weekly
08-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
G Adventures replaces polar expedition ship
Tour operator G Adventures is swapping out its Expedition polar vessel for a newly chartered ship, which the tour operator will begin sailing in October. The ship is more fuel-efficient than G Adventures' current one, which is a key reason the company said it opted for a change. "While we all wanted to continue to operate our little red ship, it became apparent that doing so would not be good for the environment or the business," said Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures founder. "As a company, we are always looking for ways to evolve, improve and lead from the front, so when the opportunity for this new ship presented itself, we knew we had to take it." Replacing Expedition will reduce the carbon footprint of each person onboard by up to 30%, Poon Tip said, based on an estimate from initial calculations. The ship, the Ocean Adventurer, has been chartered from SunStone, said G Adventures. Quark Expeditions chartered the ship for many years. G Adventures will give it the Expedition name in tribute to its previous "little red ship." The first sailings will be to Antarctica. The ship has 70 cabins and can accommodate 128 guests. It includes a restaurant, bar, presentation lounge, library, fitness area, outdoor hot tubs and an observation and sundeck. The cabins are G Adventures' "most modern and stylish accommodation options to date," the company said. Each cabin has either a porthole facing the ocean or a window, and guests can choose from suites with a double bed as well as twin and triple cabins.
