UM professor to appear on History Channel

ORONO – UMaine astrophysicist, author, professor of physics and Challenger Learning Center of Maine board member Neil Comins will be featured in a History Channel presentation at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, on the dangers of space travel.

Comins, who published the book “The Hazards of Space Travel” in 2007, joins several other astrophysicists and two astronauts to discuss some of the physical, biological and emotional complexities of traveling in outer space. Comins was appointed to the Challenger Learning Center of Maine board in December 2007 and has been an active advocate for center programs.

The show, “Space Travel,” is part of “The Universe” series produced for the History Channel. It is the second appearance Comins has made on the History Channel within a couple of months. He also was interviewed and appeared on “The Mysteries of the Moon” episode of “The Universe” series in mid-December.

While most people may be aware of the obvious dangers of a crewed spacecraft leaving and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, Comins, in his book and in his History Channel interview, says some hazards aren’t so well-known.

Comins also discussed in his History Channel interview the emotional effects of long-term isolation inherent in living on space stations and in future space exploration to the moon and beyond.

Much of Comins’ interview took place last fall in a submarine in Portsmouth, an enclosed environment that is similar, in terms of physical and emotional isolation, to a spacecraft, he says.