Now playing Next Next Series Takeaway: the star factory The Via Lactea project has created the largest database on the Milky Way The data was collected by the Herschel telescope with more than 900 hrs of observations. 07/11/2016
Now playing Next world news LIVE: what happened to the Mars landing Schiaparelli probe? Scientists are scrambling to confirm the status of the European lander which was due to have landed on the Red Planet's surface, after contact was lost during its descent. 19/10/2016
Now playing Next world news Europe and Russia's mission to Mars The ExoMars mission blasted off seven months ago abord a Russian rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 19/10/2016
Now playing Next world news Is there life on Mars? Landing of ExoMars probe today may tell us more Destination: The Red Planet. 19/10/2016
Now playing Next China A giant leap forward? China embarks on its longest space mission to date China's Shenzhou-11 docks at the Tiangong 2 space lab in what could be a giant leap forward for its space programme. 19/10/2016
Now playing Next world news All you need to know about Europe's new mission to Mars Mars has long piqued people’s interest – from science fiction tales of Martians to Elon Musk’s goal of one day colonising the planet. 18/10/2016
Now playing Next world news ExoMars arrives at the Red Planet ExoMars is a mission of firsts – if all goes to plan then this will be Europe’s first controlled landing on Mars, and this is the first mission of its kind to go directly in search of signs of… 18/10/2016
Now playing Next world news ExoMars has Red Planet in its sights - within days! Landing on Mars is notoriously difficult. 14/10/2016
Now playing Next World Mission accomplished: Rosetta crash crowns ESA's historic achievement The European Space Agency's Rosetta mission has come to a close with success after crash landing hits target 30/09/2016
Now playing Next Sci-tech 'Commencing countdown' astronauts prepare for blast off French ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet is going for a swim, but this is one dip with a difference. Pesquet is taking his last training session in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at Johnson Space Cente 29/09/2016
Now playing Next world news Microbes and the meaning of life? Researchers in Japan are hoping microbes from Space could hold the secret to the origins of life on Earth. 21/09/2016
Now playing Next Argentina 'Giant meteorite' unearthed in northern Argentina An excavating team in Argentina have unearthed a rock weighing over 30 tonnes it is thought could be one of the world’s largest meteorites. 14/09/2016
Now playing Next USA Queen singer Freddie Mercury honoured on 70th birthday An asteroid has been named after the late Freddie Mercury. 08/09/2016
Now playing Next Sci-tech Philae: a space odyssey with a happy end After nearly two years missing in action, Rosetta's small lander Philae has finally been located in a shadowed spot on the comet 67-P - also known as Churyumov Gerasimenko - just three weeks before th 08/09/2016
Now playing Next world news See the first images of Jupiter from Juno They were taken last Saturday when the probe had completed the first of 36 orbital fly-bys of the massive planet. 03/09/2016
Now playing Next USA Is anyone out there? Mysterious radio signal sparks alien speculation A mysterious radio signal picked up by a Russian telescope was probably not sent by aliens but astronomers in California are checking it out, anyway. 31/08/2016
Now playing Next world news Earth-like planet on our cosmic doorstep Just 40 trillion kilometres away – not so far in astronomical terms – a potentially habitable planet has been found by scientists. 24/08/2016
Now playing Next Sci-tech NASA's latest launch - to bring back 'scientific treasure' NASA is counting down to their OSIRIS-REx mission (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer), aimed at bringing samples back from a near-Earth… 24/08/2016
Now playing Next no comment The Perseid meteor shower at its peak The annual Perseid meteor shower peaked on Thursday night into early Friday. 12/08/2016