PROJECT MERCURY ADVANCES - America's first manned space program finally puts a man in orbit. CAMERA TRACKING - The array of special cameras that follow a spacecraft at launch.
PROJECT MERCURY BEGINS - The start of NASA & America's first manned space program. MARS EXPRESS - The European Space Agency's Mars Satellite. THE SOYUZ LAUNCH SYSTEM - The gradual evolution of Russia's Soyuz launcher.
COLD WAR & THE START OF THE SPACE RACE – Cold War rivalry and the acceleration of space exploration. SERVICING HUBBLE - Preparations for Hubble's final servicing mission. CHASING A COMET - Launch and the difficult path to rendezvous.
Each rocket that gets fired off has an impact on the atmosphere. Will Earth be able to survive hundreds, or even thousands, of fuel-burning rocket launches every year.
Once we've managed to get a handle on building structures to help us live on the harsh, dangerous surfaces of other celestial bodies -- why stop there?
Human needs have always created opportunities for human greed. And energy might be the most crucial need of all. Could we end up paying a subscription fee for sunlight?
Space is home to crucial resources, important discoveries, and big potential profit.
Stars are a bit like human beings. They can be warm or cold, they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes… and, let's face it, they can be dim or bright. Recent discoveries suggest the number of stars in our galaxy alone may exceed 200 billion.
For an instrument first developed as recently as the 17th century, the telescope has travelled a long way. The latest version of the once-humble telescope will be going a lot farther – carrying us ever closer to the first light.
The question often rises is the cost of space exploration really worth it? Could the money be better spent elsewhere. If so one space program would have to remain. The planetary defence program, to locate identify and deflect a wayward asteroid.
Our solar system is vast, from our own star the Sun to Earth is nearly 150 million kilometers or 1 Astronomical Unit. Jupiter is 5.2 AU distant and Pluto up to 48AU, the solar system extends far beyond this into interstellar space.
Torie and Larry duke it out on the auction floor for an incredible artefact. Cole meets astronaut Scott Parazynski who risked his life on one of the most daring spacewalks ever.
Survival anywhere requires that we adapt to our surroundings but how will humans adapt to survive in space?
How will “world wide wifi” change the world again?
Resources are tight in space. Everything that goes up there has mass and therefore a cost.
As the latest successes and failures come and go Mars continues to give up her secrets. Invisible clouds are revealed with ultraviolet light and the search for the source of methane continues with ExoMars.
This week's experiments blow open the science behind creating a glowing pickle, how forensic teams extract DNA, and how acids can transform simple household items to their core.
In this week's experiments we mix up some fireworks made from tin foil, whip up a stinky polymer, and try out an alchemy staple - turning lead into gold.
Over the centuries, scientific theories have emerged that rival religious cosmology in terms of ambition and scope. But can science ever truly explain everything?
In this installment, Athena decodes some of the difficulties faced by the scientists & environmentalists looking to fundamentally change our relationship with energy.