Our Baking Series Won a Sir Arthur Clarke Award
- 31st Oct 2025
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
For this edition of Our Space we have some amazing news to share: our Instagram series Mission Bake has not only been nominated for a Sir Arthur Clarke Award… it’s won!
If you haven’t yet seen Mission Bake, you’re in for a treat. The video series mixes space science stories with baking, created in collaboration with Dr Josh Smalley, Great British Bake Off alum and University of Leicester researcher.
We received the incredible news that we had won live from the awards ceremony on 28 October, with Lucy Hallam from our Content team proudly attending in person to collect the trophy. It was an unforgettable moment that marked a huge achievement for everyone involved… and an extra-sweet victory for the team who brought this recipe for success to life.
Cooking Up a Slice of Space Science
Each episode takes viewers on a journey through the cosmos via the kitchen, with Josh tackling a different space-themed baking challenge while discovering more about the wonders of space and science. From a glowing UV trifle inspired by the search for life on Europa, to rocky road meteorites with marshmallow chondrules and a chocolate fusion crust, every bake serves up a tasty new way to understand our universe.
Behind the scenes, Lucy is the creative lead who helps to research, film, script, and edit each episode, with support from Claire Medhurst, our Content Creator. The Discovery team helped ensure every fun fact was scientifically spot-on, while Paul Millington, our Content Manager, developed the original concept alongside Josh, Lucy, Claire and Charlie Isham, Discovery Director.
And the response to this tasty creation has been amazing! It’s one thing to bake a cake, but what you really want is for someone to enjoy a slice of it. As one viewer shared, “This is the perfect video! [My daughter’s] been learning all about space at school and loves all your fun facts. The cake looks brilliant!” With over 100,000 views and counting, the response to Mission Bake has been absolutely amazing and we couldn’t be happier.
From Kitchen to Awards Stage
The project began as an online video series, but has since evolved into Mission Bake live, co-presented by Josh Smalley and members of our the Discovery Team, including our Space Expert, Dhara. The live show has been taken to the stage at the UK in Space Festival, Edinburgh Science Festival, and Leicester Food Festival, inspiring audiences to explore space through baking.
For Mission Bake to receive recognition at that level is a huge honour, highlighting the creativity and teamwork that went into every whisk, fold, and flourish. The Sir Arthur Clarke Awards celebrates outstanding contributions to space exploration, education, and outreach.
Previous winners include BBC’s Infinite Monkey Cage, Aardman Animations, Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe Podcast and the team from BBC2’s Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes… so we couldn’t be happier to be included in such fantastic company!
A Night To Remember
On the night of 28 October, Lucy and Josh headed down to Royal Aeronautical Society to attend the award ceremony. “It was a very fancy evening in a very fancy venue!” Lucy said. “We met lots of inspiring scientists and engineers who are doing work at the cutting edge of the space industry.”
The pair enjoyed a gala dinner (“The vegan options were *chef’s kiss*! – Lucy) and enjoyed talks from many speakers. Then the award presentation began. “We were delighted just to have been shortlisted so it came as a huge shock when they said we had actually won!”
“We were so chuffed,” Josh told me. “You should have seen the look on mine and Lucy’s face when we were announced as winner… it was utter shock! What an amazing reward for our team efforts!”
Looking to the Future
Winning a Sir Arthur Clarke Award is a huge milestone, and for the team it feels like we’re just taking off! With more families and viewers engaging with science through fun, creative content, Mission Bake shows that sometimes space is a subject that anyone can enjoy, and can be adapted to any format… even baking!
A huge congratulations to Josh, Lucy, Claire, Charlie, Dhara, Chloe, and everyone across the Content and Discovery teams who helped bring this idea to life.
And, of course, thank you to everyone who’s watched, baked, and learned alongside us. Here’s to more space-themed treats, more delicious discoveries, and plenty more reasons to celebrate.
