A look at our scouts in the Solar System. Probes that trail-blaze on Mars, plunge into Jupiter and land on Saturn's moon Titan.

The possibility of a spaceport in Earth orbit, the colonisation of the Moon and Mars, the taming of Venus, plus an elevator into space !

From the ancient sky-watchers of Babylon to space-age cosmology, the story of astronomy featuring Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton and Hubble.

Taking a look at celestial shows, how the solar wind conjures an aurora, lunar and solar eclipses explained and a recent eclipse of the Sun.

Exploring the threats of comets and asteroids and what would happen if the space rock that slew the dinosaurs hit New York today.

Visible light reveals only part of the Universe. We look at how other wavelengths fill out the picture, from gamma-rays to radio.

Is there life elsewhere in the Solar System? Could life be sustained on Jupiter's moon Europa or even Saturn's moon Titan in the future?

Our galaxy explored and light years explained. Looking at the life and death of stars, supernovae and the clouds where stars are born.

After astronauts fix its faulty optics, the Hubble Space Telescope peers back through time to the depths of the cosmos.

Looking at the structure of the Universe, galaxies, clusters, strands and how we measure to a nearby galaxy and to the farthest quasar.

The theory of the Big Bang explained and how from that cataclysmic explosion the Universe continues to expand, but will it stop and reverse?

Although invisible, black holes betray their presence, which is the same with dark matter: the missing 90% of the Universe.

Birth, life and death of the Sun. Interior dynamics, exterior fireworks. Sunspots, corona, solar wind - all about our local star.

The most comprehensive portrait ever of this scorched little planet. Takes a look at double sunrises, craters, cracks and, incongruously, maybe polar ice.

Looking at the planetary hell beneath the clouds, the poisonous, crushing atmosphere, seating heats, volcanoes and a runaway greenhouse effect.

The evolution of the earth and of life, its internal structure, continental drift, day length, seasons, oceans, climate, weather and El Nino.

The story of the Moon and its birth from collisions, its influence on Earth, Apollo landings and the recent discovery of water.

Could cold arid Mars be the next place we land? Looking at polar caps, volcanoes, the biggest canyon ever seen and the possibility that Mars once had oceans.

Bigger than the other planets combined, Jupiter is a turbulent gas giant with 16 moons. We take a voyage through this mini Solar System.

Exploring the many rings and moons of this exotic gas cloud and a preview of a landing on Titan, a moon like primitive Earth.

The outer giants. Uranus has a crazy tilt and a chaotic moon called Miranda and Neptune with tempests and a moon spurting geysers.

Looking at comets and where they originate, the Oort Cloud and the Kuiper Belt and the possibility that Pluto isn't a planet at all (recently declassified).

Launched into Earth orbit, these are the satellites that monitor the health of our planet. Looking at the ozone, the melting ice-caps, weather, deforestation and navigation.

Human space exploration, from Yuri Gagarin's first orbit of space to the race for the Moon and the Apollo landings.

Living and working in space, triumphs, tragedies and everyday practicalities on the Russian space-station Mir and America's Space Shuttle.