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Tory space minister mixes up Mars and the Sun

2024-01-16 00:00:00.0 独立报-英国政治原网页

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The Conservative space minister has apparently confused Mars with the Sun.

Andrew Griffith, who has been in charge of the space sector since November, also mistook Jupiter for Saturn.

On a walk around the Science Museum in London, Mr Griffith pointed to an exhibit showing the surfaces of different planets, the House magazine reported. “Now we have got Mars,” he said, before being told by a member of museum staff that it was actually the Sun.

He went on to say “that one is Saturn”, after the display changed, before the employee said “no, no, that is Jupiter”, according to the magazine.

Insisting he is learning on the job as space minister, he said: “I’m not an encyclopaedia.”

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Space minister Andrew Griffith mistook the Sun for Mars

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Space minister Andrew Griffith mistook the Sun for Mars

In an interview with the House, Mr Griffith also said he would not want to visit space, saying it is a “fascinating” but one “for other people”.

He said: “Would I want to be the first minister in space? I think the whole idea of space exploration is fascinating.

“It’s enormously good that people like Tim Peake and others do that, but I’m very respectful of the amount of proficiency that goes into that.”

When pressed on whether he would go up into the stratosphere, he replied: “That’s for other people.”

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