On Exoplanet Atlas, dense gravity creates a thick atmosphere allowing airborne life forms to thrive - but also providing a lesson in adaptability.
Explore the violent formation of our solar system, and look forward to its eventual death. And, what do other planetary systems around far-flung stars look like?
S1E5 • How the Universe Works • 2010 • Astronomy
A soaring quest through the solar system’s exotic and hidden water realms, from the deep seas below the icy crust of Europa to the vast prehistoric oceans that once existed on Mars billions of years ago.
S1E4 • Space's Deepest Secrets • 2016 • Astronomy
When a team of scientists have launched a space probe to the heart of our solar system in brand-new mission to our Sun, it makes fresh discoveries reveal how it works; along the way, experts uncover a surprise find on Mercury.
S1E3 • Mysteries of our Universe: Our Solar System • 2019 • Astronomy
The first episode of Space Voyages looks at the Mars Curiosity Rover - an incredible 21st century machine. And it would never have been possible without the accomplishments of early NASA astronauts and engineers. Everything was new – rocket science, astronaut survival – even simply steering in space! This is the story of how both humans and robots laid the foundations for space exploration that continues today.
1/4 • Space Voyages • 2013 • Astronomy
For years, scientists suspected that the oceans came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids, but a new discovery suggests that their true origins may be more exotic.
S4E7 • How the Universe Works • 2015 • Astronomy
"This film documents an event that has never taken place – man's first encounter with intelligent life from space". We've been fantasizing about an extraterrestrial visit for decades, but what would happen if it actually took place? How would we cope? Should we be afraid? These and many other questions are addressed in this philosophical film about a hypothetical initial contact with aliens. Scientists and space affairs specialists at the UN and NASA and in the British government cooperate in this cinematic simulation of the undoubtedly exciting meeting between extraterrestrial life and humanity. The interviewees speak directly to the unknown entities as if they've already arrived. From their own fields – politics, theology, sociology, biology or space science – they ask probing questions. What are you doing here? Do you have a sense of right and wrong? Do you carry bacteria that could make us sick? Are we hazardous to your immune system? Information specialists in the British government show how a first summit in this situation could go. How do you inform the public? Will countries work together? Is there a danger involved? Above all, the alien visit raises questions about the relation between our own history of exploration, colonization and warfare, and the expectations with which we approach the unknown. This is a journey beyond terrestrial perspective, revealing the fears, hopes, and rituals of a species forced not only to confront alien life forms, but also its own self image.
2015 • Astronomy
