A Place Called Space

Helen Sharman's dreams of being back on the Mir space station, brought to life through animation.

Project Apollo took America to the moon. But what came before? The second in our series of films using archive footage to tell the story of America's early days in space looks at Project Gemini: America's crucial programme designed to ready themselves for a trip to the moon.

A melancholy tale of a piece of self-doubting space debris hurtling around our planet.

Experience zero-g in 360 degrees in this interactive video from Kevin Fong's trip on a parabolic flight, the so-called 'vomit comet'.

Real and fictional, this infographic shows everyone who's walked on the moon.

A beautiful, unique animation of little-known audio from Carl Sagan's 1977 CHRISTMAS LECTURES on humans in space.

Why do astronauts pee on the wheel of a bus before they take off? Do superstitious traditions really help astronauts about to fire into space? Kevin Fong investigates.

Science demonstrations that test basic physics of water in zero gravity, filmed with Kevin Fong on a parabolic flight.

A space-themed delve into the archives of the Royal Institution.

Four astronauts think back to their time in space.

A video looking at an innovative project using speech analysis to gauge how stressed astronauts really are.

A look at the select few who have visited the International Space Station.

The story of NASA's most famous missions which saw man first step foot on the moon.

Astronauts have the best anecdotes. Seasoned spacefarers Helen Sharman, Daniel Tani and Michael Barratt think back to their time in the stars.

Chemist Professor Andrea Sella shows how the spontaneous ignition of hypergolic mixtures can fire rockets into space.

Animals paved the way for man to venture off our planet. Explore the species that led the way, and continue to expand our knowledge today.

Tim Peake launched into space from Baikonur, the world's first and largest operational spaceport. We take a look at the unique space travel history of this special place.

In 1959, Project Mercury became the United States' maiden space programme. This is the story of that programme, told through beautiful archive footage.

Spoken word poet Mark Grist has a lyrical argument with himself about whether space travel is worth the investment.

Space is dangerous. But it's also really, really annoying.

Helen Sharman walks us through the suit that kept her safe when she became the first Briton in space over 20 years ago.

Since Sputnik 1, we’ve been littering the space around our planet with debris. This interactive visualisation tells the story of how it has accumulated.

What’s it like to see our planet from above? Four seasoned astronauts recall that most unique experience.

Just metres apart, and hundreds of miles from planet Earth, the Russian and American ISS crews lead very different lives.