Cultural expedition cruise specialist Swan Hellenic is planning six voyages featuring experts exploring the origins of planets, our Universe and the search for life beyond Earth.
The 2027 Explore Space at Sea Series was created in partnership with the SETI Institute, an organisation that grew out of NASA’s High Resolution Microwave Survey and has spent more than 40 years searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.
The series will feature six renowned SETI Institute scientists, each accompanying one of six exceptional cultural expedition cruises. Travelling with Swan Hellenic guests, they will share the latest discoveries and the enduring search for life beyond Earth.
From Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere sky to volcanic landscapes and the Arctic, from Asia Pacific to West Africa, the series will explore how observations on Earth can help scientists understand distant planets, stars and potential forms of life beyond our own world.
The line’s, SH Minerva and SH Vega are 5-star Polar Code PC 5 expedition cruise ships with ice-strengthened hulls, launched in December 2021 and July 2022. Both accommodate 152 guests in 76 spacious suites and staterooms, the majority with large balconies. SH Diana is a slightly larger PC 6 ice-class vessel launched in April 2023. She accommodates 192 guests in the same distinctive comfort and style in 96 staterooms and suites.
The 2027 SETI Institute scientists include:
Ross Beyer, Planetary Scientist of the Carl Sagan Center, SETI Institute, will be the guest specialist aboard Cruising the Pacific Islands: New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands from Auckland to Honiara, 21 March–3 April 2027 on SH Minerva. . A co-investigator on NASA’s HiRISE, New Horizons and VIPER missions, he has helped investigate landscapes on Mars, the Moon and icy worlds including Europa, Enceladus and Charon.
Uma Gorti , Chair of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Carl Sagan Center, is aboard SH Vega’s Patagonia and the Wild Atlantic: Cruise to the Falkland Islands, from Ushuaia to Montevideo, 25 March–8 April 2027. She works with data from observatories including Hubble, ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope. Her lectures will explore the southern sky, star-forming regions, astronomy and navigation, as well as Antarctic experiments and cosmic rays detected beneath the ice.
Derek Kozel, principal investigator of the GNU Radio Project ,one of the world’s most widely used open-source tools for radio systems, will be aboard SH Diana’s West Africa Coast and Atlantic Islands, from Dakar to Lisbon, 5–14 May 2027. His research at Carnegie Mellon University and Cardiff University focuses on radio science, instrumentation and machine learning.
Bill Diamond, President and CEO, SETI Institute is aboard SH Vega’s From Canada to Iceland Along the Viking Routes, from Halifax to Reykjavík, 20–31 May 2027.. The Silicon Valley technology veteran has more than 30 years’ experience in laser photonics, optical communications, X-ray imaging and semiconductor technologies, including senior executive roles at several technology companies. He will offer guests a broad perspective on the SETI Institute’s work and the scientific and technological challenges involved in the search for life beyond Earth.
Megan Seritan, Deputy Manager, Ring-Moon Systems Node, NASA Planetary Data System at SETI Institute joins SH Vega’s From Iceland to Svalbard, from Reykjavík to Longyearbyen, 31 May–10 June 2027. She studies how geological features reveal the history of planetary magnetic fields. Her research has focused particularly on the Moon’s ancient magnetic field. During the voyage, she will connect Iceland’s volcanic landscapes and the magnetic record preserved in lava with the planetary science contained in NASA’s archives.
Janice Bishop, Chair of Planetary Exploration, Carl Sagan Center, joinsSH Diana’s South Atlantic Cruise: From South Africa to Antarctica departing from Cape Town and returning to Ushuaia, 29 October to 18 November 2027. She investigates Martian rocks and Mars’s early climate, geochemistry and potential past habitability. She will explore the connections between the Antarctic cold desert and Mars, including the search for minerals and biosignatures associated with life.
Each scientist will bring a distinct perspective to Swan Hellenic’s 2027 Explore Space at Sea Series, giving guests the opportunity to engage directly with researchers whose work is helping to expand our understanding of our place in the Universe.
“Each voyage connects remarkable destinations with some of the most fascinating questions in science, offering our guests the opportunity to see what others don’t, both on Earth and far beyond it.” says Mario Bounas, Chief Commercial Officer of Swan Hellenic,
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