חלל   - space

One hundred days of solitude
Six volunteers spent 105 days in an isolation module as part of an international experiment in preparation for a manned space mission to Mars. Under constant surveillance, the all-male crew carried out 72 different experiments to gather data in readyness for a mission to Mars

Destination Moon, four decades on
It has been 40 years since Apollo 11's Eagle lander touched down on the surface of the Moon. For decades after Neil Armstrong took his 'one small step for man' it seemed Earth's closest space neighbour had lost some of its shine for exploration. But in recent years, mankind has started taking a 'giant leap' once more.

The space business
The Paris Airshow is a giant marketplace for all things aerospace. But what drives the space industry? What's it all about? Variously, people at the Paris Airshow said it's a combination of applications and innovation. They said it's global, but also fragile.

Space, Defence and Security
Walls and watchtowers have long been used to ensure the safety of citizens sheltering under their protection. The guardians of the 21st century are no less vigilant than their ancestors. But their means of keeping watch have changed somewhat. Today the military and civilian space agencies are joining forces more often on dual missions in the name of safety and security.

A Window on the Universe
ESAC, the European Space Astronomy Centre, could describe some of their work as "putting the universe into our computers". Based near Madrid in Spain, ESAC is an important part of the European Space Agency (ESA). Scientists are gathering data on the characteristics of the universe - its age, its contents, how it evolved, its geometry. Once the data is gathered, then it has to be processed and archived. The information is invaluable to the international scientific community, and being stored on computers, is easily accessible and, via internet, even accessible to the general public

Uncovering Venus' secrets
For a long time, many imagined conditions on Venus to be similar to Earth. But space probes have since discovered a burning hell instead of a tropical paradise on the planet's surface. The first European mission to Venus, our closest neighbour, helps explain some of the reasons for this hostile environment.

67°4 N, 26°6 E: a polar view
Above the arctic circle, satellites observe the snow and ice to protect animals such as reindeer -In what is being called "science to serve the citizen" -Europe is backing a series of programmes covering all aspects of life impacting on the individual.

Interdisciplinary International Intercultural Studies
The International Space University is based in Strasbourg, France. Fifty students from all corners of the world are preparing for their future careers in Space Science. They are studying a wide range of subjects. ISU Strasbourg, a university which stands out for its originality.

Getting to know our planetary neighbours
How well do we really know our Solar System? While we may be starting to unravel the secrets of Earth and its closest neighbours Mars and Venus, the 'gas giants,' like Jupiter and Saturn, that are much further afield remain shrouded in mystery. This edition of Space looks at the story of the forgotten planets.

A taste of how hard it will be putting life on Mars
It is a claustrophobes worst nightmare. Locked in a giant tin-can for months on end, isolated from the outside world. In Moscow, scientists are trying to find out how well humans would hold-up on the 18-month journey if mankind were ever to visit the Red Planet. It is a vital experiment if one of mans long-held dreams is to become a reality to put human Life on Mars.

From Gunpowder to the cosmos
In the beginning there was gunpowder then came hydrogen and liquid oxygen used to propel objects through space. Today many more propellants are available to engineers to power long journeys into space.

European scientists take the measure of gravity
A European satellite is prepared for launch to map the subtle variations in gravity around the globe from orbit. It is hoped the GOCE mission will offer a new insight into ocean circulation and climate change.

Making the invisible visible - the big picture in space
Four hundred years after Galileo began peering at the stars, 2009 is officially the International Year of Astronomy. Techniques have moved on since Galileo's day. Radio-observatories and space telescopes use the whole electromagnetic spectrum to create a picture more detailed than light alone.

Space takes a walk on the dark side
Space investigates the dark side of the universe. Black holes, dark matter and dark energy are becoming slightly less of a mystery thanks to some powerful new research tools which are beginning to shed light on some the universes most peculiar phenomena.

GMES: Planet Earth's 'help from above'
Climate change, natural disasters, humanitarian crises - today's challenges require quick access to information about what's happening on the ground. A new European system will use satellite and terrestrial data to help the human response. Keeping an eye on Earth.

Opening new horizons
Space exploration - the big scientific missions, manned flights, technology which grows ever more complex - in short, a great adventure. But that's not all, space has given rise to a number of applications, devices and inventions that we use in our everyday lives.

Student projects fly high in northern Sweden
Students from around Europe have been flying their experiments on high altitude balloons in northern Sweden. It is a unique way to test their theories in an extreme environment, but one that comes with a healthy dose of lastminute drama alongside their scientific successes.

Viewing the Universe in a different light
European scientists are preparing two new windows on the Universe that will give astronomers an unprecedented look at stars forming, and the aftermath of the Big Bang. Unlike optical telescopes, the Herschel and Planck space observatories detect far-infrared and microwaves.

ATV: the next step
Europe's ATV - the Jules Verne - ended its first mission with a controlled break-up over the Pacific. Its developers are already thinking about the future of Automated Transport Vehicles, and hope to develop a craft that can not only return to earth intact, but can also carry a crew of astronauts.

Space looks back at 4 years of programme
Space is a source of inexhaustible fascination, discoveries and research. For four years Space has reported on a wide variety of extraterrestrial developments. Some of these themes are explored again in a special programme, the 100th edition.

Cycles, eruptions and sunspots
It is a ball of burning gas one million kilometres wide but the Sun is one of the reasons we are here. Clouds of electrically-charged particles routinely shoot from the Sun, disrupting communications systems on Earth. But does solar activity also play a part in climate change?

Jason 2 to monitor global climate changes
Sea levels are rising everywhere, but in some areas they are rising quicker than others, bringing increased dangers of flooding. A new satellite -- Jason 2 -- has been launched to continue work to monitor the situation, providing valuable information for scientists trying to understand how ocean levels fit into the climate change puzzle

Food
Satellites used to combat rocketing food prices. With the cost of staple foods heading into orbit, millions of people in the world's poorest countries are facing the prospect of hunger. And the global food crisis is being felt especially hard where drought, flood or pestilence threatens. But now, satellites are being used in the battle against rocketing prices.

Attention job-seekers: astronauts wanted
Ever dreamt of becoming an astronaut? This might be your chance. The European Space Agency is on a recruitment drive for talented individuals to join its demanding training program and become the space explorers of the future. The job profile of an astronaut

Water and the Universe
Water, water everywhere - a vital resource that is a defining feature of our planet. But how much do we really understand about the water around us - where does the water on Earth come from, where do you find water in space and what role does it play?

Proba: Big plans for ESA's mini satellite
Small is beautiful - in space as on earth, it is now possible to build high tech devices to a much smaller scale. Micro and mini satellites like ESA's Proba series are being used to serve as test beds for new technology and to carry standalone science missions.

Hubble's Successor in Space
The space telescope Hubble is about to celebrate 18 years in orbit. But it will only have one more service before it's gigantic successor takes over. In 2013, the James Webb Space Telescope, using infrared, will allow us to look far more deeply into the past.

Corot
Rocky worlds with oxygen in the atmosphere and water on the surface - these are places that could harbour life - but how do we find them in such a vast and forbidding universe? Europe's Corot mission is taking the first steps to track them down by staring at distant stars and spotting their planets.

All Aboard the Mars Express
European space scientists are looking at data from their Mars Express probe, trying to unravel the secrets of our solar-system neighbour, the red planet. Among the mission's work, is finding similarities and differences between Mars and Earth. Is there life on Mars? That's this edition of Space.

Sea Ice: How satellites monitor change
The ice cap is slowly melting. As climate change takes hold new routes first sailed by Amundsen are becoming more viable. European satellites are carefully scanning the Arctic region. We travel to the northern Norwegian town of Tromso to meet the scientists tracking these dramatic changes

Cosmic Vision
ESA Head of Science sets out Cosmic Vision goals The space exploration projects that wil be launched in the coming decades are in the process of being selected. The European Space Agency's Cosmic Vision competition calls together proposals from across Europe. ESA Director of Science David Southwood talks about the future of space exploration, and his sources of inspiration.

Moons
The moons of Jupiter and Saturn: Astronomers are learning more and more about the moons of our solar system. Ultra long-distance probes are opening up new opportunities, allowing scientists to study them on the same level as the moons' mother planets. In this edition of "Space", the astral satellites that make up the systems of Jupiter and Saturn.

European Space Incubator
The Incubator helping to hatch ideas from space What's the connection between a racing-driver, a video-game, and a breach in Dutch sea-defences? They all use technology which has been developed from the space industry, and transferred onto terra firma. And the European Space Incubator is on hand for innovators to hatch new ideas.