The Cassini orbiter after releasing the Huygens probe separating to enter Titan's atmosphere (credit: ESA).
Planetary
UK space scientists investigate distant planets and moons, comets and asteroids in the solar system. One day, some of us may call another celestial body ‘home.’ International projects are under way to establish a Moon base in the next twenty years, and to send a human expedition to Mars in the coming generation. UK scientists are deeply involved in studying the conditions we will encounter. No matter where we go in the solar system, the Sun will still shine down on us, and we will need to understand its impact. Then there’s perhaps the deepest question in all of science: does life exist only on Earth, or has it also arisen elsewhere? Missions to the surfaces of other worlds shed light on this tantalising puzzle.
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Cassini's scientific harvest
The US space agency NASA is admired for its ambitious deep space projects, but British scientists and hardware designers are also involved, even in the most spectacular missions, such as the Cassini p...
Building Cassini
It’s not just a question of downloading data. Almost every aspect of the mission has benefited from British involvement. For example, a British company provided titanium hoses that feed Cassini's engi...
Mars and Venus: Earth's 'failed' sibling worlds
UK scientists are also working with ESA's Mars Express and Venus Express missions. In this case they are studying unmagnetised objects. We are exploring other planets to see what causes the similariti...
