space exploration – Discovery Diaries

Fly over ExoMars landing site

In preparation for the ExoMars rover Mars landing, scientists are creating 3D models (called Digital Terrain Models, or DTM) of the terrain in Oxia Planum.

Martyn Wells: Optical Engineer

Read our Q&A with Martyn Wells. Martyn is an optical engineer who oversaw the optical design of the MIRI instrument for the James Webb Space Telescope.

Tim Peake: The Principia Mission

On Tuesday, 15 December 2015, ESA Astronaut Tim Peake launched into space.

Vinita Marwaha Madill: Space Operations Engineer

We speak with Vinita Marwaha Madill, contract Space Operations Engineer at the European Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how Helen Sharman inspired her to follow her dreams.

Tamsin Mather: Volcanologist

We speak with volcanologist, Tamsin Mather. Here she tells us about her career in the STEM sector and how her job isn’t just wearing a silver suit traipsing up a volcano…

Sue Horne: Head of Space Exploration, UKSA

Read our Q&A with Sue Horne, Head of Space Exploration at the UK Space Agency. Here she tells us about her career in the space industry and how she kept bees as a child!

5 minutes with… Iya Whiteley

Introducing Dr. Iya Whiteley, Space Psychologist and Director of the Centre for Space Medicine, University College London.

Stephen Lewis: Professor of Atmospheric Physics

We speak with Stephen Lewis, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at The Open University. Here he tells us about his career in the STEM industry and what inspired him as a child.

Dr. Sally Ride: America’s First Female Astronaut

Meet Sally Ride, America’s first female astronaut and an inspiring role model for children and adults alike.

Helen Sharman: Britain’s first astronaut

Find out more about Britain’s first astronaut, Dr. Helen Sharman.

Abbie Hutty: Lead Spacecraft Structures Engineer

We speak with Abbie Hutty, Lead Spacecraft Engineer and the Delivery Manager for the ExoMars rover. Here she tells us about her career in the space and why she has no plans to travel to Mars any time soon.

Introducing the Pre-Launch Chapter with Lucy Hawking and Dallas Campbell

Get off to a flying start with this video with author Lucy Hawking and science broadcaster Dallas Campbell.

Meteorite or supervolcano?

A huge crater named Ismenia Patera exists on the Red Planet. But where did it come from?

Chapter One: Richard Garriott on Being an Astronaut

To introduce us to Chapter One of the Space Diary we asked private astronaut Richard Garriott to share his experiences of going to space.

Chapter Two: Helen Sharman on how astronauts communicate in space

We interviewed Britain’s first astronaut, Helen Sharman, and asked her to explain everything about communication in space.

Tim Peake returning to space

This just in: Tim Peake is to return to space.

Mars’s thin atmosphere

Mars’s atmosphere is about 100 times thinner than our home planet’s. Find out one theory about why it’s so thin.

Celestial dates for 2018

Ready for some sky-gazing? With eclipses and meteor showers to spare, it’s going to be an exciting year!

Mars’s missing oceans

Why did Mars change from blue to red? This video by a National Geographic explorer explains what happened.

Is Mars’s soil really red?

For World Soil Day we wanted to find out if the soil on Mars was really red and what makes it look that way.

Meet our closest neighbour

Mars might be about 225 million kilometres away from Earth but it’s still our closest neighbouring planet.

Watch Astronaut Tim Peake Return to Earth

Saturday 18th June is the big day when Tim Peake returns to Earth after six months on the International Space Station. Tim will return in a Soyuz capsule, along with crewmates Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Kopra. He’s due to land in Kazakhstan at 10.15am BST.