In just one generation, our ability to search for planets beyond our solar system has transformed. With modern techniques and telescopes, planetary scientists have found thousands of exoplanets in our universe, and many of them have the perfect conditions for life. Are we about to find Earth’s twin?

Over billions of years, planet Earth has become home to an amazing interdependent ecosystem, containing a dizzying variety of animals and plants. But how did life here begin? And does it exist anywhere outside of our solar system? We uncover the secrets of our world by tracking the evolution of the cosmos itself, from the Big Bang onwards. Follow scientists responsible for some of the major breakthroughs in understanding the origins of life and witness how their discoveries are fundamentally changing the way we perceive the universe.

The most innovative area of human motion lies not on Earth, but with the exploration of space. Space is the most hostile environment we know. Navigating it involves crossing unprecedented distances. It's the greatest engineering challenge humanity has ever undertaken.
Meet the pioneers who've dreamed of reaching other worlds, pushing the boundaries of space exploration, and the private space entrepreneurs jostling to offer the tantalizing prospect of cheap, frequent travel beyond the atmosphere into Earth orbit.

The Apollo equipment has sat abandoned on the lunar surface for over 40 years. Now there is a renewed excitement and drive to return to the moon. This time, not to just plant a flag, but to colonize. How would we accomplish this? And why would we do it?
The race is on to colonize the Moon, to uncover its hidden riches and discover if humanity can really survive on another world. The Moon is our gateway to our solar system, it's the stepping stone we have to become a multi-planetary species.

For all of human history, the Sun, our home star, has measured our days and our seasons while fueling all life on Earth. Yet it remains an enigma. NASA's Parker Probe Plus is on a mission to change that, flying through dangerous radiation to become the closest spaceship to orbit our Sun.
It's a journey to the center of our solar system, a mission to gather information about the most critical celestial body in the sky, our star.

How is the universe put together? How is it built? And how does it actually work? How the Universe Works Series 8 shows the inner workings of our planet, the solar system, the galaxies and the universe itself.
In the first episode, if a massive asteroid collides with earth, it could end life on our planet as we know it. New discoveries and cutting-edge tech reveal just how close we are to apocalypse and what it would take for the world's leading space agencies to stop it.