Eric Philips is an Australian polar explorer, adventurer, guide and private astronaut, renowned for his pioneering expeditions across Earth’s most extreme environments.
Eric has led numerous self-supported ski expeditions across major icecaps, including those in Greenland, Ellesmere Island, Iceland, Svalbard, Patagonia, and Antarctica. Notably, he became the first Australian, alongside companion Jon Muir, to ski to both the North and South Poles, locations he has since trekked to more than 20 times. In 1998–99, he completed a 1,425 km ski expedition from McMurdo Station to the South Pole via the untrodden Shackleton Glacier, one of four new rotes he has pioneered to the Earth’s most southerly point.
In 1999, Eric founded Icetrek Expeditions and Equipment, a company specialising in polar guiding and equipment design. He also co-founded the International Polar Guides Association (IPGA) and co-created the Polar Expeditions Classification Scheme (PECS).
In April 2025, at age 62, Eric participated in the Fram2 mission - the first human spaceflight to orbit over the Poles. Launched from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, the mission completed 55 orbits over 3.6 days at an altitude of approximately 430 km. He became the first Australian to fly to orbit under the Australian flag and the fourth Australian in space.