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Science In Action: 29/12/2011

29/12/2011

BBC World Service - Science In Action, 29/12/2011

Space: what happened in 2011 and what can we expect for 2012?

Jon Stewart discusses some of the successes and failures in space travel over the past year and looks ahead at the exciting new directions space travel is going to take in the coming years

In this week's programme, Jon Stewart discusses the successes, failures and future of space travel with BBC's space expert, Jonathan Amos. 

With the landing of Atlantis on 21 July of this year, Nasa's Space Shuttle Programme has come to a definite end.  Jonathan highlights some of the most important missions and discusses why the Shuttle Programme was no longer sustainable.

But the end of Nasa's Space Shuttle Programme also signifies a new beginning in space travel. Mars Science Laboratory is currently on its way to Mars, where it will give us a remarkable insight into past conditions of the Red Planet. 

Jonathan discusses privately run Space Station resupply missions with Gwynne Shotwell, the President of SpaceX. 

And finally, with the Space Launch System, Nasa will also aim to develop a much larger rocket that allows humans to go deeper into space then any human being has been before.

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