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Brits in Space
Three, two, one, lift off! This edition launches into the extraordinary - and extraterrestrial - world of astronaut training, discovering what it truly takes to become a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut. \n\nAs Europe looks to play a more prominent role in space exploration, we shine a spotlight on the candidates who are pushing boundaries and preparing to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland amongst the stars.\n\nBut first, the programme is honoured to welcome back Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut. Chris Lintott is with Helen at the Science Museum, London, celebrating the opening of the brand new space gallery. Chris finds out what it was like to go to space and how Helen became an astronaut, from the selection process to learning the essential skills needed for life beyond Earth. While exploring the treasures of the exhibition, including Helen’s own space suit from her voyage in 1991, Tim Peake’s Soyuz descent module and a three-billion-year-old chunk of the moon, Chris and Helen contemplate the rise of commercial missions and the future of international collaboration in space.\n\nIn France, guest presenter and astrophysicist Jen Gupta joins space scientist Rosemary Coogan, one of the UK’s latest ESA astronaut recruits, as she works toward her private pilot’s licence. Recounting her journey from academia to astronaut selection, we find out if Rosemary’s background in space science might come in handy amongst the stars.\n\nMeanwhile in Germany, Maggie Aderin-Pocock dives into the deep end with British-Australian materials chemist Meganne Christian as she prepares for her first underwater ‘spacewalk’. In ESA’s XR lab, Meganne demonstrates to Maggie how virtual reality is used to train astronauts by immersing them in a simulated ISS environment - without ever leaving Earth. \n\nMaggie also follows up a story from last year, checking in with bronze medal-winning Paralympian John McFall as he continues his historic journey as the world’s first astronaut with a physical disability. Selected for ESA’s feasibility study on making space travel more inclusive, John is undergoing a bespoke training programme designed to assess how physical disabilities can be accommodated during space missions. As he adapts to his prosthetic ‘space leg’, he continues to prove that space can - and should - be accessible to all.\n
Source: BBC 4
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